


Transformers The Day That Never Comes

by serindarkwolf09



Series: Serin Darkwolf's Transformers [6]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crude Humor, F/M, Mild Language, Multi, Original Character Death(s), Sexual Humor, Violence, child/sparkling death, dark themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-07-22
Packaged: 2018-02-10 00:53:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 48
Words: 235,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2004684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serindarkwolf09/pseuds/serindarkwolf09
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With a chaotic end approaching, choices must be made that may end one war and will start a new one. Problem is, how will Earth be able to accept their possible fate?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction: An Anciet Legend

Before the war that ravaged our ancient world of Cybertron, there was a legend passed around through many generations of Cybertronians; Autobots and Decepticons alike. It was a story of how a great entinty had created two separate life forms that would travel the out reaches of the Universe, creating life upon young planets. They were merely sparks of life, placed into metallic bodies so that it would be easier for them to travel through the cold reaches of space.

The life forms were eventually known as the Light and Dark Gods; creators of the Cybertronian world. It was not known how these strange beings became known as gods, other than that they had created our race of people out of metal from their own bodies. Or at least one of them did. The Light God of Cybertron; known as Primus, was the creator of all Cybertronian life. He used the very metal from his body to create people of his image, while his dark brother, Lord Unicron served mostly as his Guardian. He would keep watch for any kind of threat there might have been, while watching as Primus created life.

And in secret, he loathed Primus' gift from the higher Entities. He believed that if they created life, they could use to control everything. Even their own creations. He believed it was in their right to control their creations' minds and wills. And that was one thing that Primus did not believe in as Unicron had. He believed giving his creations their own free wills. And thus, he programmed each life form he created from his very own being to have their own thoughts and choices of what they would do. He gave them that freedom, starting with twelve life forms.

However, knowing that he would not be able to stay among his own creations because he had done what he seeked out to do, he created two very special devices with the hope to give them to his creations. He had chosen the first Twelve Cybertronians to serve as the leaders over his people, to guide them and lead them into a bright future. He created the All Spark and the Matrix of Leadership, devices that would help his creations to live in harmony and peace. With the All Spark, it was to be used to create more life while Primus would not be around to do so. And with the Matrix of Leadership, it would give the Twelve Original Transformers the power to make the right decisions. But only if they chose to use it wisely.

Lord Unicron, however, had felt a lust for power. He desired the two artifacts of power that his rightous brother had created but he would not face Primus right off. Instead, he came up with the idea to create his own Original Transformer. He created the Thirteenth Original Transformer; whose name was lost to all history. Primus agreed to allow Unicron's own creation to join the Council of Thirteen, where they would lead the Cybertronian world into a peaceful future. It wasn't long before Primus had built a world for his people to even live on.

Before the world of Cybertron was even finished, Unicron became impatient and desired the artifacts of power immediately so he could destroy Primus. He had his Thirteenth Transformer try and steal the All Spark and the Matrix of Leadership while the other Twelve were helping Primus build their new world.

Primus, unfortunately for Unicron, saw the impending attack before it happened and used what power he had left to stop his brother and his Transformer from taking the artifacts. He fought with both of them with his Twelve supporting him until they succeeded. The Light God of Cybtertron demanded to know why Unicron had tried to betray him and take his people's source of energy. But the answer was not settling.

Wanting to protect his creations, Primus did the one thing that he would have never thought he would ever do. He had been pushed to banish Unicron and his creation to the deepest part of space where they would be imprisoned.

It was some time after that, the Mighty Light God, Primus disappeared.

Only the remaining Twelve Originals knew what became of their precious God. They had sworn to never tell what became of him, out of fear that Unicron would break out of his imprisonment and try to find where Primus was being kept. They knew that the Dark Lord would do anything to destroy his righteous brother out of rage for his banishment. They hide the secret of Primus for years to come and never got the chance to tell the latest of their Decendents where Primus really was.

And no one still knows what really became of Primus. That was why it was called a Legend.

~Jetfire,

The Oldest Living Cybertronian


	2. Power Of Madness

The Darkness of pace could be cold and lonely but always silent. There was no sound within the reaches of space to be heard. It was said that if one stayed in the dark, cold and ever so quiet areas so long, they could go mad.

But how could one go mad if he were already insane?

That was the very question he was asking himself as he sat in the cold open space, waiting for a report to come through. He had been waiting for so many years, dwindling on the edge of recharge and coming out again. He had drifted off in and out of consciousness many so times, waiting for the right time to actually wake up. He knew that he was mad. He was mad of many things. It was that madness that kept him alive. The madness from the betrayal, rage, lust for power and determination to get what was his that kept him going. He knew that he was being driven into madness for what he desired.

But he honestly didn't care. He would soon be rewarded for his long wait.

Soon, he would get his revenge on his betraying brother, who had exiled him into the darkest part of the space. He would get his revenge on those pitiful followers that followed his brother's ways like innocent little dogs they were. He would consume all of the worlds that his brother and his lap dogs had tried ever so protected from him.

And he would start with the one world that his twin brother, Primus tried to protect over a billion years ago.

The young Planet called Earth.


	3. Leo Spitz

There was really no way to prepare anyone for what was to come. No one could explain what happened or how it happened in the best possible way. All they knew was that it happened too fast for anyone, even the Autobots, to even be able to process.

And it all started two months ago, when four very excited human teenagers started their first day of college.

It was an early Autumn morning, in the month of September when they had arrived to the Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. It was quite a bright, sunny day when Sam Witwicky, Mikaela Banes, Trent DeMarco and Dawn Adams arrived onto the campus with their Guardians. All of them were very excited about their new step in life. They had not been able to stop talking about it along the entire way from Nevada to Utah. It was even better that their Autobot Guardians were going to be with them. The four Autobots; Sideswipe, Hot Rod, Bumblebee and Arcee had been granted permission from Optimus Prime to watch over their young friends and make sure they wouldn't be targeted by Decepticons or the newly found threat of humans, the Department.

It had come as a shock nearly half a year ago when they learned about the human threat from newly arrived Autobots that encountered these humans. It almost seemed inconceivable that humans would know about the Autobots without the acknowledgement of the World's Governments. But it seemed that even the World United Nations didn't even know some secrets.

It had been mostly the doing of Optimus Prime's older spark brother, Ultra Magnus and his young ward and friend, Rex Rory did the Autobots and the human Governments even find out about the tip top secret organization called the Department. No one knew that it had existed and it had quite a lot of people agitated.

Especially the former Sector Seven agents, who usually knew everything.

None of the former Agents; Agent Reginald Simmons or Tom Banachek knew anything about the so called Department or the few names that Ultra Magnus or Rex Rory had managed to give them after their encounter. They didn't even know anything about another top secret Sector numbered Three. It was to Simmons and Banachek's knowledge that Sector Three had been a merely a Scientific Research branch in all of the sectors but it had been quickly shut down as soon as Sector Seven had been completed.

Of course, Simmons and several of the Government analysts tried to find secret information on the former Sector Three level. But it was to their highly irritation that everything had been destroyed. Not a single file seemed to exist. Simmons wasn't too surprised, though. He had claimed that anything top secret about the Sectors were usually always destroyed to keep prying eyes or ears from catching any Intel at all.

No one was happy with that news one bit.

For nearly half a year, there was no sign of any Department Agents. It was like they never existed and both; Ultra Magnus and Rex Rory had been completely mistaken about the entire ordeal. Which, they kept up insisting that the Department did exist and they did try to kill the Autobot Commander and the human teenager. Even Optimus Prime's lovely sparkmate, Elita One and the Autobots that come with her insisted that they had met at least two Department Agents, who had defected from the top secret organization after their employers threatened the life of Rex Rory. They had not agreed with that bit of harming a human boy one bit and so they decided that enough was enough.

So far, there was no sign of Agents Cole and Sean either. There wasn't even a shed of proof that they existed and it wasn't easy trying to find two single people out of nearly eight billion humans on the Planet Earth. Hound, the Autobot Intelligence Technician and the human techs were still on a search for the true identities of the former Department Agents. But they were not having much luck on the matter.

Other than that, there wasn't much going on.

There had been a recent scuffle with the Decepticons with the situation of the newest member of the Autobot-Human team; Dawn Jade Adams. It had been only nearly eight months when the Decepticons had kidnapped and threatened Dawn's life to get to Sam and the Autobots to get information on what everyone believed a new created All Spark hidden somewhere on Earth.

Truth be told, no one knew where the New All Spark was hidden. But they knew it was somewhere in the Southern part of the world, possibly in Africa or Southern Asia. It could have been hidden in Australia for all they knew but they were still having a very hard time trying to find it. But one thing was for sure, the ancient device belonging to Optimus Prime was sure acting up. It pulsed now and then, giving only the Prime the awareness that there was a newly created All Spark somewhere on Earth. It had been a mere image or flash of memory sent to Optimus that it had been rebuilding itself on the planet. He wasn't entirely sure if it was true but he had a feeling that it was. And Optimus had learned a long time to trust his instincts.

The search for the All Spark wasn't going too well though.

Either way, Dawn Jade Adams was now a part of the Autobots' lives and even more so for the young Autobot Warrior, Sideswipe.

It had come as a surprise to some but not all that the human girl and the Autobot had formed more than just a friendship with each other. Even after knowing each other for a few short months, Dawn and Sideswipe had fallen deeply in love with one another. And no one could even break that bond they shared with each other. No one wanted to.

Well, there were some skeptics on the matter, of course. A new Liaison for the Human-Autobot Relations for one. Theodore Galloway, quite a whiny and highly biased against the Autobots sort of man, was the loudest protestor about Dawn and Sideswipe's love for each other. He had no problem stating that their relationship was un-natural and completely unorthodox and that it wasn't right for a human girl to be in a relationship with a giant alien robot. He didn't even seem to have a problem calling Sideswipe a mindless machine many times, which had quite a few Autobots disliking him more and more.

And Galloway learned to never mess around with Dawn's feelings or insult Sideswipe because the Autobot Warrior and his twin brother, Sunstreaker, had no problem rolling Galloway's car right off the Grand Canyon cliffs or just simply blowing it up. They constantly got in trouble whenever the Liaison was around. There had been many times that Optimus had to order the twins to stay in their quarters whenever Galloway made monthly visits to the Autobot Base hidden in the Grand Canyon.

As it was, no one cared one single bit about Galloway's protests or opinions when dealing with the love that Dawn and Sideswipe shared for one another. Not even Simmons, who was quite a loud protestor himself on many occasions. It had surprised everyone; Autobots and humans, when Simmons announced that he did not care that Dawn was with Sideswipe. They all had expected him to make as much noise about it as Galloway had. But he did not care. He simply put it, he didn't know anything about the matters of the heart and he didn't want to know. Which was why, everyone knew that he would never get a girlfriend.

Nearly eight months passed, Graduation from High School came and went, and now the four teenagers and their four closest Autobot friends were stepping foot on the Weber State campus, ready to excel in life.

"Wow! Look at this place! It's so amazing!" Mikaela Banes laughed as she took off her helmet and swung her leg over Arcee's seat. She looked around with wide excited eyes, while her three best friends climbed out of their Guardians.

Sam smiled brightly as he stepped out of Bumblebee and looked around the huge campus. He knew that it was mostly just excitement from going to college, more or less, a University that had his beautiful girlfriend's attention. He was pretty psyched about it too. But he was glad that he and his friends could be going to the same University together. There had been some concerns about their entrance into Weber State but it seemed that their concerns were un-necessary. It seemed that when the University heard that all four of them had scholarships from the US military, they were excited about it. They didn't have a problem with it at all.

"Man, the pamphlets don't do this place justice." Trent DeMarco said as he climbed out of Hot Rod's driver seat. He glanced over the hood just as a beach boy looking Hot Rod climbed out from the passenger seat and grinned at him. "What do you think, Rod?"

Hot Rod, like the other Autobots, had special programs installed in his processor, allowing him to take on a human form. He was quite good looking, much like everyone else was. He took on the look as if he was from a tropical beach and he did very much look like a surfer than anything else. "I still say you guys should have accepted the California State University. There are more beaches there and I wouldn't mind seeing my girl in a bikini." He remarked giving Arcee a wink as she pretended to have been riding with him and Trent.

Acree shot Hot Rod a dark look for his remark but everyone could see that she was trying to fight a smile. They all knew that she liked the wild tempered Autobot Spy Changer. She refused to admit it openly but it was very obvious because she was always nipping at him about how he should be less cocky than he was. But everyone knew that she secretly loved the fact that Hot Rod had a huge ego, which she liked to deflate a lot. It never got to the Spy Changer because he knew better and allowed her to criticize him every now and then. It was because of his strong feelings for her.

Sam, Mikaela and Trent glanced over at Bumblebee as his human form climbed out from inside his own self then looked over at Dawn and Sideswipe as they climbed out, looking around with wonder. It did not take them even a second to join hips together, arm in arm and holding each other close. It was almost amusing to see the two do so. They constantly were always together and it was hard not to see them apart.

"I like it. Look at those mountains. It's so beautiful here." Dawn said, eyeing the large mountain scenery in the East. "It's going to be amazing to see those mountains during the winter. I've seen them only once and they are so beautiful during the winter time."

Sideswipe smiled down at Dawn as he tightened his arm around her shoulders, giving her the lightest of squeezes. "Not as beautiful as you are, Sunrise." He just had to say. Dawn flushed as she smiled shyly up at him while everyone else just smiled or laughed.

"Okay, guys. Get a room." Trent joked.

Dawn blushed furiously while shooting her friend a look while Sideswipe just made a funny face at the former jock before laughing. Sam and Mikaela just smiled and shook their heads as they joined Dawn and Sides' league by wrapping their arms around each other and looking around. "Well, we should probably get moved in to our dorms. I can't believe we lucked out by getting into a Co-Ed dorm." The pretty dark haired girl remarked.

Everyone just nodded while Trent and Hot Rod grinned at one another, proving that they were both thinking the same crude remark as the other. "Yeah. Just make sure the RA doesn't catch you or Sam sneaking into each other's rooms to glomp each other late in the evening." The young human teen had to say before high fiving his best friend slash Autobot Guardian as Sam and Mikaela both blushed hot red and gave them a dark look.

"Trent, that is none of your business!" Mikaela hissed as she glared at her and Sam's friend, who was snickering to himself.

"Okay, guys." Sideswipe said loudly to keep a heated argument from building between Mikaela and Trent. He pulled slightly away from Dawn and clapped his hands together, grinning. "Let's get you all moved in and then we'll take you out to dinner."

Everyone agreed without further problems with Trent and Hot Rod's crude remarks. They were just happy to dropping it. It had come as a surprise to everyone that Optimus had decided to leave Sideswipe in charge while with their human friends in Utah. No one could believe that the Autobot Leader would choose the young double bladder as leader of this little expedition for knowledge. But he was in charge, probably due to the fact that he was the oldest out of all four Autobots. Though not by much when it came to Arcee. She was fairly close to being the same age as he was while Bumblebee was the youngest.

Before they had taken up the invitation by the Weber State University, the four human teens had requested that they be put in a Co-Ed Dorm and be roommates together. Mikaela and Dawn would house together while Sam and Trent would share the same dorm room. It had already been arranged. But there had been a slight problem with them having cars on campus. There had been some protests by the Dean about freshmen having vehicles. It wasn't usually allowed.

But after a little interruption by Tom Banachek, who was in charge of Sam, Mikaela, Trent and Dawn's scholarships, the Dean finally caved in. No one really knew what was said between the two but the Autobots were allowed to stay close to their young humans as their vehicles.

Still, imagine Sam and Trent's surprise when they went to their dorm room and found someone else already setting up there.

It had surprised Sam and Trent when they walked into their Dorm; T20 and found a young man putting up posters on the wall. He looked as if he was moving in and it made both friends frown. They glanced at one another before moving further into the room, staring at the young man's back. He seemed to have figured out that he wasn't alone in the room because his head came up a little before he turned around and looked at both of the pair. He frowned as he looked them over before slowly making his way across the room to greet them.

The young man was not much older than Sam or Trent was. He was slightly shorter than both of them and his features of Hispanic origin. He had short cropped and slightly curly hair on top of his head, along with dark brown eyes. He was wearing baggy black jeans and an X-Files t-shirt. It was very clear that he was a sci-fi geek, not just because of his shirt. It was because of all of the posters he was putting up. He had many posters that dealt with aliens and such. There was an Independence Day poster, along with Aliens vs. Predators, X-files and all kinds of space like posters. He even had a poster of the Solar System.

Either way, Sam and Trent had to glance at one another before looking back at the young man as he gave his head a jerky nod to greet them. "S'up? Can I help you guys?" He asked.

"Uh….." Sam murmured before looking at the door number; T20 then at his paper to check his dorm room number. It was the same. He glanced over at Trent's, who was doing the very same and saw that it was the same number too. "That's what we'd like to know. I'm Sam Witwicky. This is my friend, Trent DeMarco. We're supposed to be in this room together." He told the young man.

The young man looked almost deadpanned for a moment before he snorted and folded his arms across his chest and shifted his weight. "Uh, sorry, hommie. Not happening. I'm your room mate. Name's Leonardo Ponce De Leon Spitz. Everyone calls me Leo. I'm in this room, man. Sorry if there's some kind of mix up, but this is the room that they gave me." He told them.

Both Sam and Trent frowned at one another before they both back tracked and looked around the hall for an RA, which was coming their way while explaining something to another young man. "Hey, RA!" Sam called and waved to get his attention. It worked and the RA paused as he stopped near the two. "There's some kind of mistake in our room. My friend, Trent and I are suppose to be in T20 together but there's another guy moving in here already."

The RA frowned for only a moment before he glanced down at the clipboard he had tucked under his arm. He tapped the paper with a finger, running through the names and room numbers before he found anything. "T20…..T20. Oh, here we are. I got Sam Witwicky and Leonardo Spitz in T20. What's your last name?" He asked, looking at a rather flabbergasted and annoyed Trent.

"DeMarco. But that's impossible. Sam and I had it already arranged that we would be in the same dorm room together. My papers say that my room is T20 with Sam Witwicky." Trent said, his teeth already starting to grind in agitation.

The RA shook his head as he searched for Trent's name before finding it. "Sorry, man. Don't look like it. You're in T25. Just down the hall. Someone must have messed up your papers." He told Trent.

Both Sam and Trent sighed with frustration as they glanced at one another then looked between the RA and Leo Spitz, who had twisted his mouth a little and looking just a little smug about the whole ordeal. "Is there any way we can switch rooms? Sam and I are suppose to be roommates. Can't Spitz and I switch rooms or something?" Trent asked, sounding quite peeved.

Again, the RA shook his head as he gave the former jock a shrug and a 'What do you expect from me' sort of look. "I'm sorry. The rooms have already been filled and your roommate in T25 has already moved in. You guys should have arrived earlier to clear up this mess. There's no way there can b any rearrangements. There's nothing I can do." He told them before he was already moving on.

Sighing in frustration, Sam and Trent looked wearily back at Leo, who was almost smirking at them and already holding up his hands to let them know he didn't want to argue about it. "Sorry, dude. I'm not packing all my crap just because someone messed up your papers. I'm here and I'm staying. Got a problemo, deal with it." He told them before going back to putting up posters and a kitten calendar as if nothing happened at all.

Even more frustrated, Sam and Trent shared a look before they figured that there was nothing that could be done. They knew they could try and fight it, but it probably wouldn't do any good at all. They would have to try and contact Banachek and let him know about the problems. He might have been able to fix this whole thing. But for some reason, both of the boys doubted it. It just didn't seem like it would go anywhere without making someone mad. And it was a normal thing for dorm room switches and everything.

Trent shot Leo's back a look before looking sourly back at Sam. "I'm going to go find T25 and set some stuff down." He grumbled before walking down the hall.

Sam just looked after his rather disgruntled friend before looking back at Leo, who was merely glancing over his shoulder at him as he hung up a kitten calendar on the wall. But once he noticed that Sam was looking at him, he quickly went back to what he was doing. Sam sighed heavily before entering the room and looking around. He found his new bed already and went over to start setting things up.

"Man," Leo spoke up, whirling around and folding his arms across his chest. He was giving Sam a rather unsettling look. "I'm sorry things got messed up and all. It ain't my fault that they stuck me in here. But I gotta know that you're not one of those….."

Sam turned and gave Leo a rather annoyed look. He already got the idea of what the guy was thinking and it was almost insulting. He didn't particular blame the guy for being a little uneasy after that little confrontation but it still made him agitated. "You gotta know that I'm not one of those psychopaths who stab you in your sleep just because I didn't get my own way? Sorry you think that. But I'm not like that. It's just, Trent is my best friend and we had it already arranged that we were roommates. Sorry if we offended you or something." He told him.

Leo just shrugged lightly and stepped closer to Sam. "No problem, man. I know how it's like. I actually was suppose to be in the girl's side of the dorms." He said, grinning slyly. "But they found out that I was a guy and not a chick and made me come over here."

"Uh-huh." Sam said slowly raising an eyebrow at the guy.

Shrugging, Leo dropped his hands to his side and moved towards the door. "Well, whatever. I'm getting a drink. Don't touch my stuff, got that? We'll talk boundaries later."

And then he was gone.

Sam could only stare at the door that his new roommate had gone through before shaking his head. He really didn't think this was going to end well. He knew that he could be kind of weird and such, but Leo Spitz had taken the gold medal for being weirder. He was definitely feeling a little tension between their new arrangements. He wasn't even sure if he was going to enjoy having a room with the weirdo. But it didn't look like he was going to have much of a choice in the whole matter. He couldn't complain too much to Banachek because sooner or later, the other College students would find out that he and his friends were on Military scholarships and if they kept complaining to Banachek about it, everyone on campus would think that the four friends were some kind of spoiled. That was one thing that they did not want to be noticed through. They were there to live their life in education, not let anyone find out that they were allies and friends with giant alien robots.

"Hey! Here he is!"

Sam looked up to see Mikaela, Dawn, Bumblebee, Arcee, Hot Rod and Sideswipe now hovering just outside the door. They were smiling as they entered, looking around with hesitation. "Hey, Sam. Where's Trent? I thought you were both going to get settled in. But it looks like….." His beautiful girlfriend paused, eyeing the posters. "That don't look like any of your guys' stuff." She finished.

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head as he put the box down, Sam moved over and took Mikaela into his arms, giving her a light hug before looking around at everyone. He knew he couldn't hide the fact that Trent wasn't his roommate like they thought they were going to be. "He's in room T25. Apparently, there's already someone in this room and we can't be roomies." He grumbled.

Both of the human girls and the four Autobots froze for a moment before they all glanced at one another, looking somewhat auspicious. They weren't too sure what to make of it. "Uh….okay. I thought Simmons and Banachek had already checked it with the University Dean and the Dorm Staff that you and Trent were going to be in the same room." Hot Rod said, narrowing his brilliant blue eyes to slits.

"Yeah. I thought so too. But somehow it got changed. I don't know how it happened but it did. And now I'm stuck with some weirdo." Sam grumbled.

"Hey, hey, man. Don't be a hater."

Everyone turned around to see that Leo had returned, his task of finding a drink already fulfilled. And by the look on his face, he had already heard what Sam had said, and it no doubt annoyed him. He was giving his new roommate a dry look as he walked in.

That is until he noticed the three girls staring at him with frowns.

His eyes lighting up, Leo lowered his hand with the soda and looked Mikaela, Dawn and Arcee over while whistling. "Aye caramba, Witwitchy! You didn't tell me you had three hot babes as friends!" He said, grinning almost flirtatiously at the three, who all gave him quite a dull look. He didn't even seem to notice that Sam had his arm around Mikaela, or the fact that Sides had dropped an arm around Dawn and Hot Rod stepped closer to Arcee. All of the guys just eyed him dully.

"One, it's Witwicky. Not Witwitchy. Two, you didn't ask." Sam said dryly before looking around at his friends. "Everyone, this is my new roommate. Leo Spitz. Leo, this is my girlfriend, Mikaela." He motioned to the beauty next to him. He then pointed at Bumblebee. "That's my best friend and my cousin, Brad Witwicky. That's Rod, Dawn, Josh and Arcee."

Leo just grinned as he looked the three girls over, not even sparing the guys a glance, other than waggling his eyebrows at Sam and jerking his head towards Mikaela as if she didn't even notice. He then turned his eyes onto Dawn, his flickering down to the scars on her arms and his smile finally faded a little. He didn't seem too impressed with all of them and he eyed her uneasily, which earned narrowed eyes from Sides, as if he was daring this joker to comment on his human girlfriend. But Leo didn't seem to noticed as he looked at Arcee and grinned as he looked her over. He started murmuring something in Spanish, which the Autobots frowned at; due to the fact that it was not hard to look up the translation on the internet. "Chica, you are a mamacita! How about you and I get together…" He started saying.

Arcee gave him a very dull look while Hot Rod was giving him a look as if he wanted to transform and crush him. "No." She cut him off as she folded her arms and stuck out her curvy hip against Rod's. "Not even a chance."

Leo made a look as if he was pouting. So he looked back at Sam and made a face at him as if he wasn't impressed. "Dude, if we're gonna be rooming together, you can't talk behind my back. I see all and I know all. If we're going to have problems, there are going to be problems." He remarked.

Sam rolled his eyes while everyone else just eyed him with unimpressed looks. They weren't sure if they even wanted to be around this guy. But instead, they glanced around at all of the posters and frowned. "Uh…." Dawn was the one to start asking with a deep frown. "So, you like Sci-Fi stuff? Aliens and such? Do you actually believe in that kind of crap?"

The look she got from Leo was as if she had just insulted his deepest pride. "Whoa, whoa! Don't be dissing on aliens, chica! They are as real as you or me. Aliens do exist. I have proof that the Government is covering up an alien conspiracy." He said, moving into the room and setting his can of soda on his dresser.

Everyone froze as they stared at him. They weren't sure what to make out of what Leo just said. They couldn't even help their selves as they glanced at one another with unease. "Uh, what are you talking about? You actually have proof that little green men actually exist?" Sam asked, cautiously.

"Dude!" Leo said with annoyance as he swung around and looked at him from his computer. "They're not little green men! Or Predators. They're not even wrinkly little whatevers that ET is. You ever heard of the rumors of giant alien robots being seen all over? Well, there you go. The aliens are giant killing machines from space."

Everyone stared at Leo with wide eyes. They couldn't believe this. Leo actually knew about the Cybertronians. Or somewhat about them.

"You mean, War of the Worlds sort of robots?" Mikaela asked frowning with surprise.

Leo shook his head as he looked very smug. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He then shrugged. "But it's not like you believe me. No one ever does. But just you wait and see. When I get all of my proof together, you're going to be see this hot face," He motioned to his face, which made a few of them snort. "On the Time magazine! On the world wide news. I'm going to win a Noble Peace Prize or something for my proof." He told them.

"Wait a second." Sides said holding up a waving hand and trying not to laugh. "Are you saying you don't have the proof that these so called alien robots actually exist?" He asked sounding skeptical.

Making a face, Leo looked like he regretted even saying anything. He looked rather taken aback from Sides's words before shaking his head. "Well, not yet. But I will! I will have the proof! And then I will show everyone that I'm not just freaking kid that was abducted by aliens!" He told them.

Everyone's faces fell as they looked dully at Leo again. They couldn't believe he even said that. "You were abducted by aliens?" Hot Rod asked dryly.

"Yeah!" Leo said.

"Okay." Arcee remarked, now spinning towards the door and heading out. "I've heard enough from Mister Loopy Loop over there. Come on, guys. Why don't we get Trent and go out for lunch?"

Everyone nodded and headed towards the door, Sam being the last to leave. He closed the door as Leo kept ranting and raving about how he was abducted by aliens but they surely didn't want to hear the details of his so called abduction. But either way, it had all of them, human and Autobots frowning seriously at one another.

"Okay, guys. I don't know about you. But I think this is going to be a real big problem. If this Leo guy has proof that we exist," Sides began very quietly as they walked towards Trent's room. "Things are going to get really messy. I'm going to call Optimus and let him know we might just have a breach in our secure system. It'll be more than likely that Optimus will have Maggie, Glen, Anya and Hound find some info on this guy, just to make sure he's not some kid with an alien obsession."

Everyone nodded in agreement. They actually were hoping that Leo really did have an obsession for aliens and that he didn't actually have proof that the Cybertronians existed. But for some eerie reason, they doubted it. And it made all of them quite uneasy.


	4. Evidence

There was some good news and there was some bad news.

The good news was there was still no indication that Leo Spitz had information on the Cybertronians. So that meant that he couldn't expose them when he said that he would. He couldn't let the world know that they existed if he didn't have the proof on them.

The bad news was, there was not much information on him at all.

After receiving a call from Sides about a possible breech in security, Optimus Prime immediately had Hound work with Maggie, Glenn and Anya Karpos to find out what they could on the human. So far, they only found out that he was born in New Mexico, his family had always been alien fanatics and space researchers, and he did have some really impressive skills with computers. But other than that, they couldn't find any criminal reports, no hacking skills, or anything that might indicate that he knew anything about aliens. More or less, knew about the Cybertronians.

So after finding nothing, everyone decided that Leo Spitz didn't know anything and they were in the clear of being exposed.

But it did not help with Sam's or Trent's nerves when he told them about the dorm room problem and Banachek did try to have a word with the supervisors about their stay. The RA supervisor put up a good fight about how things were run in the dorms and the two young adults were stuck with the rooms that they were placed in.

And it certainly didn't help Sam's nerves while trying to live with a psycho like Leo. It wasn't that Leo could have been dangerous or anything. He was just beyond weird and always on his computer, working on something. Sam had only briefly caught sight of him playing around on online games or chatting it up with other alien fanatics. But whatever they said sound more like gibberish to him. So he didn't think anything of it. But it sure didn't help the fact that Leo stayed up late in the hours, typing away at his computer while Sam was trying to either study or sleep.

There had been plenty of arguments between Sam and Leo. They constantly bickered and nicked at one another about their arrangements and Sam swore he would go nuts if he stayed in the room too long with the antisocial idiot. So he always found excuses to escape from his room to hang out with Mikaela and his friends. He told them about life in the room with Leo and it became very clear that the weirdo was not a favorite among the friends or their Autobot Guardians.

As it was, all four new college students were rather happy with the fact they chose to be in the same classes as one another, excluding a few alternative classes. One being that Mikaela was into the Mechanics class, Dawn being into Creative Arts, Trent was in the Animal Health class. As it was, Sam was in the same class with all of them.

Astronomy 101.

Sam, Mikaela, Dawn and Trent were quite excited about being in Astronomy and were having a lot of fun learning about the out reaches of space. They were learning the basics at first, of course. But it was a little exciting when they learned a lot more about Planets and such. The professor was a very funny and interesting man by the name of Professor Armstrong Johnson. He'd received quite a few jokes about his name, if he hadn't started it first.

When Professor Johnson started class on the very first day, he'd already arranged an assignment for everyone to do. He had asked everyone to invent their own alien world and it's inhabitents. He had even arranged groups of four students to work together. He even put Sam, Mikaela, Trent and Dawn together, which they had shared secret grins with one another as soon as they started working.

And of course, they came up with an entire world full of mechanical alien beings, calling them Sparkbeings. They had gone over their story with Sides, Arcee, Bumblebee and Hot Rod of course, which had all four Autobot Guardians roaring with laughter for hours. They were basically taking the story of the Cybertronian world and twisting it around in their own words. They had even called Optimus to let them know what they were doing and even he had to chuckle at what they were putting in their reports. He just advised them to be careful of what to say, of course. But after hearing what the four young friends were writing, everyone relaxed.

As for the story of the Sparkbeings, they were from a very distant planet called Sparktron and they were beings basically made of balls of electric organic light using metallic structures for bodies. They were a very peaceful lot, working together in harmony until an evil similar race called the Sparkicons from a twin planet of Sparktron came to invade. They were after an ancient energy source that the Sparkbeings possessed that brought inorganic objects to life, giving them a free will of their own. The story went on that the Sparkbeings and the Sparkicons were at war, but it was the Sparkbeings who were always winning the battles and eventually driving the Sparkicons away from Sparktron. Sam, Mikaela, Trent and Dawn's alien story became quite a huge hit in the Astronomy class with everyone but Leo Spitz. He hadn't found their story funny at all but he didn't say too much about it. He just said that they stole his idea, but his story was a little corny and the Professor failed him for his lack of story of his own alien robot beings. Especially when Leo was using the story of the War of the Worlds right out of the book.

Other than that, the four friends and their four Guardians were enjoying College life.

But still, things were very tense between Sam and Leo. They weren't entirely on speaking terms but there was some things that Sam really wanted to find out about the guy. There was just some things that Leo was hiding and it was bothering him. Especially when he kicked Sam out of the room to webcam talk with someone. Only briefly did Sam even hear the word aliens and such. He realized that Leo was talking about the alien robots with someone but he could never figure out who he was talking to.

It became a concern again after Sam overheard Leo mention that he had actual video footage of the alien robots.

So once again, Sam confided with everyone and let them all know that he was suspicious of Leo Spitz once again. It wasn't hard to say that the four Autobots weren't happy to hear it again. Sideswipe sure had a serious look on his human face as he thought about what Sam said.

"Okay, I don't like this at all. I think it's time we got a little serious with this guy." The Autobot Warrior remarked as he glanced around at everyone. "I'm calling Prime again and I'm going to let him know that Leo Spitz is still a problem. It'll be more than likely he'll send someone up here to confront the kid. But I think that's the right state of action right now."

Everyone nodded as they looked around at one another. They knew it was time to find out what Leo knew about the Cybertronians and find out if he was a threat to their security. They sure hoped that he didn't know anything about them.

"What should we do until Optimus decides what to do? Shouldn't we try asking Leo about what he knows?" Dawn asked frowning as she leaned against Sides' side.

Sides glanced down at her before wrapping his arm around her waist and holding her. He merely shrugged as he looked around at everyone. "Maybe you can try that. Maybe all of us can make Leo think we're just as interested in aliens as he is and we want to know what he could tell us. As it is, we all are interested in knowing what he knows. So that won't be hard to do at all. But the hard part is convincing him to tell us." He told all of them.

Mikaela bit her lip as she shared a glance with Sam before sighing in defeat. "You know what? I have an idea. But you're not going to like it, Sam." She told him.

Sam gave her a very suspicious look. "Why? What is it you have in mind?" He just had to ask.

So Mikaela told all of them and Sam certainly didn't like it. But it wasn't like they had much of a choice. They needed to know if Leo had any proof that the Cybertronians existed and if he did, get him into the loop before he decided to expose them. Because if he did expose them, not only would the entire world have a panic attack about their world being asylum to alien robots, but it would definitely give the Decepticons the initiative to go human hunting every day now they didn't have to hide.

The plan was, Mikaela was going to flirt with Leo to get him to talk.

Sam, Trent and Dawn waited in their seats, merely watching as Mikaela walked right up to where Leo was sitting and started talking to him. They really hoped that this work, though Sam wasn't entirely in the best of moods when his girlfriend was going to flirt with someone else just to get him to talk to her about what he knew about the Cybertronians. He knew it was pretty important to find out what he knew, but it didn't mean he had to like it.

At first, when Mikaela even approached him, Leo had given her a look of suspicion as if asking her why she was even talking to him. Normally, he would have been foaming at the mouth to have a gorgeous girl like her even say hi to him. But because of some of the clashes he had had with Sam, he knew that it wouldn't be a social call from his roommate's girlfriend. They talked for a moment, one still looking suspicious while the other was smiling in a flirtatious way. But after that moment, Leo finally looked surprised at whatever Mikaela said as she sat next to him, doing all of the talking. She must have said something that got his attention.

It was when the Professor came into the class to start did they decide to stop talking. Leo said something to Mikaela that made her nod and smile at him before she stood up and started making her way back to where Sam, Dawn and Trent were sitting. She even risked a little wave of her fingers as she left him, knowing very well that he was staring at her backside.

Quickly sliding into the chair right next to Sam, she looked quite seriously at all of them and nodded. "Oh, yeah. He knows something all right. I told him that I heard a rumor that he knew about alien robots and such and I actually looked into it. I told him that I found it really interesting and he just blurted it out that he did have the proof of the Cybertronians. I convinced him to show me and Dawn, but he really doesn't want you two," She looked from Sam and Trent, who looked dully at her words. "He doesn't want you to come. I think he thinks its some kind of date that I set up with him." She told them.

"Yeah, well, he's going to be really disappointed when we go with you guys anyway." Trent remarked dryly.

Sam nodded while Mikaela hesistated. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea. There was a good chance that Leo might change his mind if the guys showed up. But Sam seemed to figure out what she wanted to say and shook his head. "Mickey, it's my room too. Leo can't keep kicking me out of there. We'll just have to tell him that Trent and I are really interested too." He told her.

Mikaela shrugged, smiling faintly at him. "Yeah. I guess you're right. Leo wants Dawn and I to meet him at your guys' room tonight. He'll show us the so called evidence that he has of the Autobots and the Decepticons. We better let Sides know that he should call Optimus and tell him to send Simmons or Banachek here." She told him quietly.

Everyone nodded and then looked to the professor for the day's lesson.

That night, Mikaela, Dawn and Trent met up at Sam and Leo's room, where they found the two having quite the argument about the whole ordeal. It seemed that Leo wasn't too happy that Sam was not going anywhere. He was looking pretty peeved about it.

"Leo, look! I'm not leaving. This is my room too." Sam ground out at his roommate.

Mikaela grimaced as she saw the two facing off, glaring daggers at one another. She figured that she better jump in before Leo made up his mind not to show any one of them the evidence that he had. "Leo, if it's okay, can you just show all of us? Sam and Trent are into this kind of thing too. We all are. We want to know the truth. We want to know if the Government is actually covering something up like alien robots. Can't you show all of us?" She asked, putting on a pouty look, hoping that it would work.

Leo gave her a dull look before rolling his eyes and sighing heavily. "Fine! But if you try and steal my work, I gotta let you know that I'm a serious hacker. I'll ruin you guys bad if you try to sell me out." He warned them.

The four friends made a face before they closed the door and went over to where Leo was plopping down in his seat. He was already working at his computer, pulling up files and such. But as he did so, he was also working on something off to the side. It looked like he was disconnecting the internet from his computer.

"Uh, Leo? What are you doing?" Dawn was the one to ask, tilting her head to the side.

Leo gave her an impatient look. "I do not want to be scoped while showing you these. If I'm still connected to the internet, the suits can find out and track me here. So I gotta disconnect or they will scope me." He told her. Sam, Mikaela, Trent and Dawn shared a glance before shrugging and sitting around the computer and Leo. They watched as he pulled up several files right off a flashdrive before spinning to face them. "Okay. So you heard about the whole terrorist attack in Mission City, Nevada, right? About how terrorist bombed the crudo out of the entire city?" He didn't even wait till everyone nod before he spun around and clicked on one of the files. "Totally BS. The Government lied to the Media and made all of the people of Mission City tell lies by paying them a lot of money to keep quiet. They didn't want anyone to know the truth." His eyes sparkled and it honestly made the four friends a little nervous by it and the sly smile he had on his face. They weren't even liking the words he was saying. "It was giant alien robots."

Sam and Mikaela shared a glance while Dawn and Trent glanced at them. They felt a nervous streak go right through them. "Uh, giant alien robots again? What do you mean giant alien robots? How could the Government cover that up? Why?" It was Dawn to ask.

"And, how do you even know?" Trent added.

Leo actually grinned as he reached behind him without looking at the keyboard and tapped the enter key. He merely dipped his head towards the computer, as if telling them watch.

And a video clip popped up.

On the video clip, it showed a traffic camera facing down one of the streets. There were people running and screaming from something. It didn't show what they were running from just yet. But only a few seconds later, something bright came flashing across the camera frame and something massive smashed into one of the buildings. All four friends' jaws dropped in shock. It was not hard to make out that Transformer at all, even though he was on his feet quickly and charging back down the street to face the Decepticon he had been fighting. It had been Ratchet who had gone flying into that office building after getting blasted off of Starscream.

Sam, Mikaela, Trent and Dawn glanced at one another almost uneasily before looking at Leo, who was grinning smugly. "Uh, Leo. How do we know that's real? I mean, it's not impossible to mess around with CGI and all that." Mikaela said, trying to keep herself from panicking.

Leo gave her a very annoyed look before spinning around on his chair and Xing out the video feed. He chose another one and pulled it up before turning his annoyed look back onto the four skeptics.

This one was another shot of the Mission City battle, but this one had a wider shot of Autobots fighting the Decepticons. They could see Ratchet, Ironhide and Jazz shooting at one of the Decepticons, who had fallen during that battle. It was definitely a clearer shot until the camera got shot. But Leo was already pulling up two videoes and these ones were in a whole different place. One that Sam, Mikaela, Trent or Dawn had never been too. It wasn't hard to pick up the massive form of Ultra Magnus, as he picked up a big black SUV, ripping the top off. Both of the video feeds were basically the same, just at different angles.

"I got this one at the end of Summer or something like that. This happened in Sante Fe, New Mexico. My old home town, actually. I was there too when it happened. Some big red robot thing chased down some Goves and ripped apart their cars. I was totally cool with it too." Leo explained but for some reason none of the four believed him. They could already imagining him screaming in a high pitch voice and running for it. They could even hear his screams from one of the video feeds as he tried running away from it. Leo must have heard it too because he grimaced and quickly X'd out that one. "And you know that huge explosion they said that happened over by the Oregon State Coast? They said that it was a Military Aerial training session that gone wrong. I'm calling BS on that one too." He said as he pulled up another file after X'ing that one out.

This time he had a GPS satellite picture over the entire Oregon State. Near the edge of the picture, there was a big bright blur that Sam, Mikaela and Trent knew had to be the explosion that was caused by a female Autobot named Spitfire. They remembered how Spitfire had tried to sacrifice herself to stop a massive and very violent Minicon called Cataclysm, who also happened to be connected with a very nasty, never met and thank Primus, Transformer called Unicron. It was no doubt that picture of what Spitfire had done.

"You can't see 'em too well." Leo said zooming in the picture of the white blur but it was clear what he was trying to point out. There were only silhouettes of Spitfire and Cataclysm's metallic parts flying everywhere. "But I guess two big bad metal robots got blown up. The Government tried to cover that up to."

Leo spun around and folded his arms with another smug smile. "Like it or not, peoples. There are alien robots among us and the World's Governments are hiding it. They want to keep it to their selves!" He shook his head, grinning. "But I'm going to be the one to uncover the lid. I'm going to prove that these things exist! By all of this evidence, I'm going to show the world that the Governments are hiding something from us! And I'm starting tomorrow! There's a bunch of NASA scientists coming tomorrow to meet with me. There's going to be a reporter too! These alien robots are going to make me famous because I'm gonna expose 'em!" He told them.

Uneasily, the four young friends looked at one another, trying to hide their horror from Leo. They knew that what Leo had was enough to make the entire world believe in the Cybertronians. This was so not good at all.

"Well…" Mikaela said rather breathless, forcing a smile on her face. "This is so cool, Leo! I can't believe there are actually alien robots on Earth!"

"Yeah." Sam piped up, hiding his panic well. "But don't you think this is kind of dangerous to be meddling with? What if the alien robots are what they seem to be? What if they're peaceful and they just want to live among the human kind on Earth?"

Leo looked dully at him before lifting his chin. "Maybe you're right, Sammy boy. Maybe they are peaceful. Maybe they can be befriended. I met a kid who said he made friends with one of them." He ignored the surprised inquiring looks that he was getting from all four. "But if they're so peaceful and they want to live on Earth with us, humans, then tell me, Sammy. Why are they hiding from the World?" he asked, dryly.

"Uh….what if they don't want to show their selves because they know that Earth isn't ready to know about them?" Dawn asked.

"Look, chica." Leo began trying not to sound rude but he was doing it anyway. "Like it or not, the Earthlings deserve to know what is going on in their Planet. They have the right to know that there are aliens among us. Even if they're not ready or not. I'm so sick and tired of the Governments trying to hide everything from the World. And I'm going to be the one who exposes them. And if you're not with me, then you're against me. Because one way or another, these aliens are going to be revealed." He said, now X'ing out all of his files before extracting his flash drive out of his computer. He balled his hand around it, looking back at all of them. "So, what's it going to be? You guys with me or not?"

Again; Sam, Mikaela, Trent and Dawn glanced at one another. They knew they would have to act fast to let Optimus Prime and NEST know that they did have a breech in security. They knew they would have to get someone out there to talk to Leo before he met with these so called scientists. But they weren't going to be able to do that if Leo thought they were against him.

"We're with you, Leo." Sam finally said, forcing a smile.

After that entire fiasco; Sam, Mikaela, Trent and Dawn made an excuse that they wanted to go out for some pizza and even asked Leo if he wanted to join them. But, fortunately, he declined, saying that he needed to get everything together to meet with the scientists the very next day. They had been hoping he would say that because they were really going to go meet their Autobot Guardians outside in the parking lot. Sideswipe, Arcee, Bumblebee and Hot Rod were just sitting there, in their human forms, waiting for them. And judging by the gentle glow from Sides' human eyes, he was in contact with Optimus right now.

All four Autobot Guardians looked at their four companions, almost asking how it went. But all four kept a serious look on their faces while Sam was the one to nod his head. "Leo knows about the Cybertronians. He's got some evidence that pin points your existence. He even has a video of Ratchet getting shot into a building while in Mission City." He told the young Warriors.

"And what makes things worst, he said he's going to expose you guys tomorrow to a bunch of scientists." Mikaela added.

Sides, Rod, Arcee and Bee all glanced at one another before sighing heavily and looking off to the side. The oldest of the four tapped his real body, as if trying to get someone's attention. "Did you hear that, sir?" He asked.

"Affirmative, Sideswipe." Came Optimus Prime's voice from the radio system. He sounded very weary about the whole ordeal and no one could blame him. "I have had Hound, Maggie, Glenn and Anya locate some more information off of Leo Spitz and they haven't found much. But Maggie believes she knows who he is."

"Maggie, here guys." They heard the Australian thick accent of their friend. "I did some looking up on this guy and it was a little hard to even find, but I have found out that he's a well skilled hacker. He's covered his tracks pretty well, but it wasn't like I couldn't break through his firewall. It was hard, yeah. But I managed to do it. He's known as masterspitzy_spitz. I've had clashes with him before, now that I think about it. He's always been snooping around, trying to find out about the Autobots and such." Maggie paused for a moment. "And if I'm right, he's the guy who helped Rex Rory save Ultra Magnus. So he knows a little about the Department, maybe more than we think."

Everyone frowned as they glanced at one another. They didn't like this at all. But it was a start. Sides frowned for a moment before leaning against his real body and folding his arms across his chest. "Optimus Prime, sir. What do you want us to do? Bring in the kid?" He asked seriously.

"No, Sideswipe. Not yet. I'm sending Simmons with Sunstreaker and Prowl to rendezvous with you and meet up with Leo Spitz. They should be there tomorrow, hopefully before he meets with these scientists. And the reporter. It looks like we're going to have to bring him into the loop and hope we can convince him that we are not a threat as he thinks we may be." Optimus said to everyone. "I think we may have to have Epps bring Rex to the base so that he can talk to Leo Spitz. I'm sure that your fellow classmate won't take things too well, by what you have told us before."

Sam grimaced at the thought that they had to bring someone in like Leo. He knew that Leo thought that the Cybertronians were a threat. If only he knew that he was half right. He could only imagine Leo's face when he found out about the Decepticons. He grimaced, actually, at that thought. The Decepticons would only prove Leo right about being a threat. "Okay. So do you want us to keep an eye on him for now, then?" He asked, looking at Sides' radio.

"Yes, Sam. That would be the best. Keep an eye on Leo and make sure he doesn't see the scientists." Optimus told all of them. Everyone agreed to do that then. They just hoped that it would work.

The next morning, it proved to be a little difficult tailing Leo without him noticing. He had noticed immediately when Sam left the dorm room right after him and was following him. He didn't say anything but give him a questioning look before going on. Sam had noticed just before leaving the room that his roommate had printed off several papers and stuffed the secret flash drive in his back pack before leaving. He knew that it had to be the evidence that he was planning on showing the scientists and the reporter. He could only hope that Sunstreaker, Prowl and Simmons showed up before they did to intercept Leo and his bag.

It was not too long before Sam met up with Mikaela, Trent and Dawn in the Astronomy Class room, all watching as Leo took his normal seat in the back of the room. They had to tear their eyes away quickly when Leo glanced towards them as he sat down. They just turned towards each other, smiling as if they were sharing an interesting story with one another.

"Sides said that Sunstreaker and Prowl should be here by noon." Dawn said quietly as she took out her Astronomy book from her back pack.

Sam, Mikaela and Trent nodded as they did the same. They were glad to hear that. They only hoped that the two Autobots and the NEST Agent would be there before the scientists and the reporter would be. "Good." Sam said quietly. "The sooner, the better. I still can't believe that Leo has to be brought in."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Well, let's just hope that he doesn't annoy Ironhide or Ultra Magnus because they probably won't hesitate to pull their cannons on him and make him pass out." Trent said before snickering to himself at the very thought. Everyone ignored him though as they glanced over their shoulder at Leo and found that he was looking towards them. They had to force a smile to him before looking forward as the Professor came in to start the lesson about Super Novas.

It was not long before someone opened the door and caught the professor's attention. It was no one that the four friends knew but it was probably one of the College faculty. The Professor walked over to her and talked with her for a moment before nodding. He turned from her and scanned the room.

"Leo Spitz." The Professor called, making several heads raise up with surprise, the spoken being one. "Leo, it seems that there is some visitors for you out in the hall. They're asking for you to be excused from class."

Leo frowned, sharing a glance with Sam, Mikaela, Trent and Dawn before he stood up and gathered all of his stuff. The four friends could only glance at one another, with inquiring looks. "You don't think they're here already, do you?" Sam whispered.

Dawn immediately pulled out her cell phone and began sending a text to Sides. "I'll check with Sides. You would think that they would ask us to go with him. But maybe they're trying to keep a low profile." She murmured quietly to her friends.

Everyone nodded and continued to watch as Leo headed to the door and went out. They could just barely see him through the small window, facing someone before looking surprised. Sam, Mikaela and Trent shared a glance with each other before looking at Dawn as her phone vibrated in her hand, announcing that she'd received an answer. She merely flipped open her phone to read it before her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. She gave her three friends a sharp look as she snatched up her book and shoved it into her backpack. "It's not them! Sides said that he just got off the radio with Sunny and they won't be here for another two hours due to traffic." Dawn quickly murmured as she stood up.

Sam, Mikaela and Trent quickly glanced at one another before they, too, grabbed their stuff and started hurrying down the aisle with Dawn. They ignored the Professor as he tried to ask them what they were doing and hurried right out the door.

By the time they left the room, they noticed Leo walking away with three men in suits. They were no doubt some kind of Government officials or something of the sort. Leo was talking to them, looking rather excited about something. So the four friends knew it had to be the scientists that he had been planning to talk to. They seemed to be interested in what he was saying, or at least two of them were. The third was looking around as if he was awaiting for something to happen.

"Crap! It's gotta be them!" Trent remarked.

"Come on! We've got to make sure that Leo doesn't say anything to them!" Sam said before booking it after Leo and the Scientists.

The four young adults had to practically run through the corridor, ignoring some shouts of teachers as they tried to catch up with Leo and the men. They had just barely rounded the corner when they noticed that they were being pursued. The men in suits were the first to turn around and look at the four approaching before Leo turned. He frowned at them, giving them a questioning look.

"Dudes and chicas, what are you doing?" Leo asked impatiently.

Sam, Mikaela, Trent and Dawn just paused for a moment to catch their breath before forcing smiles on their faces for the men in suits. "Um, Leo, you almost started without us! You are so not taking all of the credit for this." Sam quickly said.

Leo's eyes grew wide at his words before he looked highly annoyed. "What the…..! What are you talking about…? You guys didn't…..!" He was saying.

"Hi!" Mikaela said thrusting her hand towards one of the men. "I'm Mikaela! This is Sam, Dawn and Trent! We're Leo's friends and partners! You're the scientists, right?"

"Hey!" Leo tried to interrupt, shaking his head and looking quite outraged. "You guys are…!"

But Trent quickly shut him up by throwing his arm around his neck and putting him into a headlock. He forced a laugh, while Leo was probably swearing in Spanish as he tried to struggle out of his strong grip. "Leo's always for a good laugh!" He stated. "So you guys are the dudes from NASA, right?"

The three men in suits had very stony and serious looks on their faces but they shared a glance with each other, as if having a silent conversation. The middle one finally looked back and nodded as he forced a tight smile. It was no doubt fake, though. "Yes. Something like that. We're from the Department of Scientific Research, Science Level Three." He stated, before tilting his head. "So, you helped Mister Spitz come up with his research, correct?"

Almost at once, all four stiffened with an ice cold freeze running all through their bodies at how the man worded that. They had picked up the word Department and the number three pretty well. But they couldn't seriously be serious, could they?

"Uh….the Department of Scientific Research, Science Level Three, huh? I don't think I've heard of that." Sam remarked, glancing at his three friends.

Leo had finally pinched Trent's side hard, making him yelp and freed himself. He gave all four friends a very annoyed, ticked off look. "You guys are not my partners! What the heck do you think you're doing trying to steal credit for this mojo? Ya trying to get up in my crib, man?" He demanded, angrily.

All four grimaced while the three men in suits shared dry glances with one another before they all smiled coolly at the five young adults. Already, two of them were side stepping around them, as if trapping them in. "So," The middle one had said slyly. "If I'm guessing right, you're the young kids who are friends with the creatures. I think we just struck gold, boys." He said, glancing at the other two before digging into his jacket and pulling out a radio. "D-Team Two, prepare to receive five suspects. We just found the aliens' human contacts."

"Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but I'm afraid you're coming with us." Said one of the other men.

All five stiffened at once, looking surprised at their words before it really hit Sam, Mikaela, Trent and Dawn. They cringed back only a little before reaching for each other's, and Leo's arm. "Oh, slag. You guys are from the Department, aren't you?" Trent asked, wincing.

"Yep." Said the third Department Agent. "And since you know about us, then that must mean that kid, Rex Rory is one of you. We're going to have to ask you of the whereabouts of him when we get back to HQ."

"Bullslag!" Dawn suddenly burst out before shoving the nearest Department Agent hard with her hands. The impact sent him flying across the floor until he hit the wall. And then she was off. "RUN!"


	5. Exposed

Quickly, Sam and Trent did the same with the other two before they both lashed out and grabbed Leo's arm, yanking him into a run, along with Mikaela. They knew they needed to get out of there, right. Now. Of course, Leo trying to pull back wasn't making things easier but Mikaela got behind him and started shoving him to move on.

"Whoa! What are you guys doing? You're ruining everything…..!" Leo was protesting, trying to pull away from Sam and Trent.

"Leo! Trust me! You do not want to talk to those guys! They are the bad guys in suits! " Sam shouted as he and Trent pulled him hard into a faster run. He, and the others could hear the Agents running after them and shouting into that radio to their so called other team about how they were escaping.

"What are you talking about….?" Leo started demanding, trying to stop.

"Leo!" Mikaela ground out as she yanked him to start running. "Do you remember Rex Rory? The kid with the alien robot that you helped?" She only nodded sharply when Leo started looking very surprised but there was a flash of recognition on Rex's name. "Well, we're Rex's friends! He told us all about you and now those bad guys that you helped him save his alien robot from are coming after you! And us! Now, get your aft moving!"

Leo looked almost pained as it dawned on him before he swore in Spanish and started running on his own. "I knew it! I knew that I shouldn't have helped that dinosaur kid! I knew hacking into that top secret facility would come back to haunt me!" He then gave the other four a sharp look. "So, how are you guys in all of this?" He cried out.

"Well, to put things simply," Trent began as they ran towards one of the exit doors, shoving them open to get outside. "We're friends with…." He cut himself off when he ran smack dab into someone.

There were Department Agents right outside, ready to catch all five of them. Dawn and Mikaela both screamed in alarm as they landed directly in open arms before trying to yank away. But it was a little late on their part. Sam and Leo yelped in alarm, trying to scamper backwards until they ran into Agents from behind. They were trapped.

"Oh…..shit!" Trent said before trying to shove the Agent off of him. "Get off, man!"

"You five are coming with us! Make things hard, and we'll make it harder for you!" One Agent had to shout over their raised voices, getting a good grip on Dawn, who was struggling hard.

Dawn's eyes flashed once before she brought her foot back sharply and then lashed out to kick the Agent hard in the knee, causing him to cry out in pain and shove her backwards. She managed to throw her other foot backwards and catch herself before she could fall. She looked quickly around, noting how they were trapped by at least ten Agents and three silver SUVs waiting right on the curb. They were not in good company at all. But there was one thing that she could do. "Oh, this is so not happening!" She said through gritted teeth before sucking in a lot of air. "SIDESWIPE! HELP!"

Some of the Department Agents winced at her scream before one lashed out to throw his hand around her mouth to keep her from screaming again. It wasn't even easy trying to fight all five struggling young adults and shoving them towards the SUV. They had to practically drag the five young men and women towards the vehicles, but were finding it a little difficult with all of the struggling. Trent was almost the hardest to keep a hold of because of his athletic build. He was having quite the shoving contest with two equally built Agents. It proved only to be a little harder when a third Agent leapt out of the SUV and hurried over to help drag him into the vehicle.

But the damage was already done.

Because only a few seconds later, there was a roar of an engine before Sideswipe came roaring around the corner, followed by Arcee, Bumblebee and Hot Rod. They had, obviously, heard Dawn's screams. And seeing their four human friends being roughly shoved towards an SUV did not sit well on their part. Especially when it came to Sideswipe seeing the human girl of his Spark being manhandled very roughly by a guy, who clearly was grabbing her arms too tight and making her cry out in pain.

His engine revving angrily, Sides sped right over the parking lot, squealing his tires very loudly to get the Agents' attention.

And for what it was worth, it worked. All of the Agents stopped shoving and yanking the five young adults towards the SUV to see the four vehicles speeding their way, looking like possessed cars and a bike. The silver sports car, however, came a little too close for their comfort, squealing to a halt only inches away from them. The Agents cried out in alarm and released their five captives, with no problem if they got ran over first.

Of course, Sam, Mikaela, Trent and Dawn didn't flinch away but smiled brightly to see their Guardians coming to the rescue. Leo, on the other hand, reacted just like the Agents. He yelped in alarm and leapt backwards to avoid getting hit by the crazy looking silver Stingray. He almost fell flat on his butt if it hadn't been for Sam and Trent both lashing out and catching his arms. He just looked at them with shock as they started to drag him towards the cars.

"Dude! What are you doing?" Leo yelled in alarm.

Sam shook his head as he kept a tight hold on his roommate's arm and dragged him towards Bumblebee, whose doors swung open. "Leo, just get in! Save the explanation for later!" He yelled, having to pull Leo hard to get him to move.

All three, Mikaela, Dawn and Trent quickly ran to their guardians just as they stopped near them. Hot Rod and Sideswipe immediately threw their doors open to let Trent and Dawn dive right in while Mikaela practically jumped right on Arcee's seat and grabbed a hold of the handle bars with a tight grip. It was sad to say that Leo was fighting against Sam, while the Agents were quickly getting to their feet and making their way over to grab them. But with a threatening revv, Sideswipe jerked forward, placing himself in between the two young men and the Agents, who scattered backwards again.

"Leo, just get in!" Sam had to yell.

"Dude! There's no one driving that thing! What is that? Is that one of them? I don't wanna get in that thing….!" Leo was yelling.

But an irritated revv from Hot Rod exploded from his engine before he rolled a little closer and threw open his driver door to knock Leo right in through Bumblebee's passenger door. "Sam! Move! Get in right now! Let's go, people!" He yelled over his radio system.

And Sam was jumping in right after Leo, who was screaming right into Bumblebee's driver seat and trying to scamper back out again. It didn't work too well when Bee slammed his door shut once his young human friend was in.

With a roar of their engines, the four Autobots squealed their tires and sped away from the Department Agents, who were racing for their vehicles.

"What happened? Who are those humans?" Sideswipe's voice demanded right out of the radio system.

Trent snorted from within Hot Rod as he was yanking the seat belt on. "Why don't you ask the genius over there, Leo? It's his fault the Department Agents are here!" He said, shooting a dark look out the window, towards Bumblebee as if glaring at the very person.

"The Department?" Arcee cried out in alarm as she sped after Sides as he took the lead in speeding down the street away from the Weber State University. "They actually showed up? Why?"

Sam, however, was covering his ears while Leo was freaking out. The guy hadn't stopped screaming yet as he was cowering in Bumblebee's backseat, staring at the spinning steering wheel that was turning itself. "Leo! Will you just shut up for one minute!" He yelled. "Primus!"

Leo just looked wide eyed at the steering wheel before looking at Sam. He had finally stopped screaming but he sure looked freaked out. "What the heck is going on, Witwicky? What is this thing?" He asked in a high pitched tone.

"For you're information, idiot," came Hot Rod's annoyed voice as he sped down the street right behind Sideswipe. "We're the alien robots that you're planning on exposing and we are saving your sorry aft from some really bad humans!"

"Hot Rod! Not now! Watch out behind you!" Sideswipe's call came before he whirled into the next lane and slammed on his brakes before getting behind Hot Rod and letting the silver SUV skim his bumper. He jerked a little to the side and sideswiped the vehicle, giving them a warning not to try that again. "Primus! Speed up, Autobots! The sooner we get away from these humans, the better! Sam! Explain to that idiot who we are and why we're risking our fragging afts to saving his!"

Sam nodded before looking at the flabberghasted Leo. "Leo, you've got to stay calm! But these four are Autobots! They are alien robots from a Planet called Cybertron, here to protect the Earth from their evil counterparts, the Decepticons! This is my best friend, Bumblebee! You know him as Brad Witwicky!" He pointed to Sideswipe as he took the lead, speeding down main street of Ogden and leading the other three right around the public traffic. "That's Sideswipe! He's Josh!" He pointed to Hot Rod, who was dropping back a little so that he would be right behind Arcee and making sure that the pursuing SUVs didn't try and slam into her next. It was amazing that the Department Agents hadn't given up yet, or worst, kept trying to slam into them like they had tried with Hot Rod. "The blue one is Hot Rod, which is Rod! And Mikaela's bike is Arcee! Which, is her real name!" Sam quickly said, giving Leo quite the look. "And the guys that just tried to kidnap us are from a top secret Governmental branch called the Department or Sector Three."

"But for some reason, you already know that, don't you?" Hot Rod asked with annoyance.

With wide eyes, Leo only stared at Sam before he shook his head. "Ah, man. You've got to be kidding me." He frowned, looking almost outraged. "You knew the aliens and you didn't tell me, Sammy boy? You lead me on, man! What the hell?" He practically yelled.

"Look, Leo! What do you want me to say?" Sam yelled right back as he glared at his roommate. "You're the one who thinks the Autobots are evil, mindless, killing machines! Even though you helped Rex Rory save Ultra Magnus! You helped save one of them, remember? The Autobots are good guys! The Decepticons are bad guys! And the Department Agents, yours truly that's chasing us from behind are really bad human guys! And they're probably here because you know something about them! Come on, man! I just told you who our friends are! Why don't you share a little info on your friends that just tried to kidnap you! And us! Why did they come after you?"

Leo stared at him for a minute before having to catch himself against the seat as Bumblebee swerved to go right around a slow moving van and get right behind Sideswipe again. "All right, all right!" He shook his head, touching the side of his head. "When I helped that kid, Rex, hack into that top secret base in Montana, I guess I did a little more digging than I told him that I would! I saw some pictures and symbols that the Suits had buried in their hard drive! I saw a name! A…a…..something British or something! Halliwell or something! Hollander! That's right! There was a bunch of pictures, graphs, and even some plans! It looked like they were trying to build something or whatever! But that was before I got scoped by one of the Suits! I didn't think they'd find me! I lead them on a cyberchase through the system and I thought I lost them!" He told him.

Sam frowned as he stared at him before he quickly looked at the driver's seat just as Bumblebee's holographic imager kicked in and his human form appeared. It startled Leo but Sam held up a hand to him to keep his mouth shut. "What? What is it, Bee?" He asked.

Bumblebee shook his head as he looked wide eyed at him before looking behind out his own rearview mirror.

Sam and Leo spun around and looked to see what he was looking at and they frowned when they saw the SUVs starting to pull back. "Hey, are they giving up?" The still somewhat freaked out Leo remarked.

"No, they are definitely not giving up! Hot Rod, see if you can hack into their radio system. I'm calling Sunny and Prowl! I don't like this at all." Sides' voice crackled through Bumblebee's radio system.

"On it!" Hot Rod responded.

"In the mean time, let's lose these guys! There's only Three of them and four of us! They won't even be able to keep up with us once we get out of this human traffic! Head down side streets! We'll meet up at the Salt Flats! Make sure you're not followed, guys!" Sides added.

"Right!" Hot Rod and Arcee both said at the same time.

And with that said, they jerked down different roads while Bumblebee followed after Sideswipe before he too sped down another road.

Leo just frowned, watching all of the other Autobots quickly vanished. "Dude, I am seriously surprised that we're not being tailed by cops yet. With the speed these guys are going, and running through some red lights and swerving around other people, you would think someone would have noticed by now." He remarked.

"Heh, you'll be surprised of what these guys can do, Leo." Sam remarked before frowning. "Bee, but he's gotta point. Why aren't we seeing any cops yet?"

Bumblebee shot him a glance before shaking his head. "Just put the blame on me, I messed up…..I'm the signal that she sends…Say goodbye, don't follow…." His radio sprouted out three different songs mashed in together.

Sam nodded, while Leo looked a little wigged out. He quickly looked at his roommate, frowning. "What the heck is wrong with this thing's radio? Why is it playing different songs?" He asked, wildly.

Rolling his eyes, Sam looked back at Leo and shook his head. He was not in the mood to keep explaining things with the Department chasing after them like this. "Bumblebee can't talk right now, Leo! His vocal system got trashed last year while in Oregon. You know? Where there was that big explosion? He has to talk through the radio if he wants to say something." He told him impatiently.

Leo frowned, wide eyed. "You mean…..? You guys were there? In Oregon?" He looked even more annoyed than before. "Oh! You guys are really good. You knew all of the stuff that I knew! So that must mean you were in Mission City too! Right? Right?" He asked almost sarcastically.

"Now that you mention it, yes! Mikaela and I were there!" Sam shot back, only getting a bewildered look. But he didn't have any time to say anything else because he saw something from the outside and looked, and jumped. "Bee! Watch out! Incoming!"

Bumblebee quickly lurched side wards as one of the Department silver SUVs came speeding down a street, trying to plow right into his side. He barely missed getting hit before speeding up and dodging around a large semi truck hauling a trailer. He didn't' have to glance behind him to see that the SUV was still giving chase. He just kept on going.

"Guys! It's Sides! Just got done talking to Sunny and Prowl! They're kicking it into high speed! We should meet up with them soon! What's everyone's status?" came Sideswipe through the radio.

"Hot Rod, here! These guys are really getting on my nerves! And it's not just the traffic! The Department fleshies slammed into my bumper!"

"Nearly got clipped, but Mikaela and I are okay!" Came Arcee's reply. "Sideswipe, we got to get off these public roads! With this going on, we're going to end up crashing into humans and someone's going to get hurt!"

"Bumblebee, Leo and I are okay, Sides! But I think Arcee has a point! We need to shake these guys!" Sam said into Bee's radio.

"Okay! Everyone, head to the highway! It doesn't look like it's too busy! We should be able to kick it into half speed and shake these Agents! We'll head on into Salt Lake City and see if we can lose them there! Sunstreaker and Prowl should reach Salt Lake in about 45 minutes at the most! If not sooner!" Sideswipe told everyone.

"Right!" Both Hot Rod and Arcee called.

Bumblebee gave a metallic sound as his answer before he nearly did a 360 to turn down a road, towards the high way. Sam and Leo only glanced through the back to see that the SUV had to slam on their brakes to make the turn and speed after them.

It was not long at all before all four Autobots met back up on the high way. They had managed to lose the Department SUVs for a short while, but it wasn't long before they showed up again. They were still behind them.

"Jeez, these guys just don't give up do they?" Hot Rod exclaimed over the radio.

Sideswipe was in the lead again, but he dropped back a little to let the other three pull ahead of him. Sam and Leo could both see Dawn in the passenger's seat, looking back at the pursuing Agents. "They seem to really want the kids!" He said as he swerved right around from behind Bumblebee, probably trying to get a look back at the Department Agents. "But what's odd, they're pulling back. What are they doing?"

"Sideswipe!" Arcee cried out. "Above!"

Everyone quickly looked forward and up only to see a Black Hawk helicopter coming directly at them. It was coming in fast and by the looks of it, it was going to come down right on top of them. The helicopter dropped down above the highway before a man attached to a harness jumped right off the helicopter just as Arcee was approaching. He fell just as she was starting to go right under him before he lashed out and caught Mikaela's arms, yanking her right off of Arcee. She, of course started screaming as she was launched into the air.

"Shit! Mikaela!" Sam yelled as Bumblebee whizzed right by before he slammed on his brakes and spun around on the road.

Of course, Arcee wouldn't have it that Mikaela was in such danger. She slammed on her own brakes before spinning around and speeding back towards the Helicopter as it was starting to pull away from the high way. The man had a tight hold on Mikaela and was already starting to rise up towards the helicopter with her. Sideswipe and Hot Rod had also slammed on their brakes and spun around on the road. It was sure dangerous, due to there was some traffic on the highway.

Cars were slamming on their brakes or slowing down while people were staring wide eyed at what was happening right on the high way.

"Arcee!" Mikaela screamed as she gripped onto the man as he was pulling her upwards. "Let go of me, you jerk! Arcee!"

The man didn't listen of course as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and used at least one free hand to wave at the helicopter to hurry it up and pull them in. Another man in the open door waved to him and began reeling them in just as the Helicopter rose up.

Suddenly there was a loud metallic click and metal sliding against metal before a somewhat large hand lashed upward, grabbing a hold of the helicopter's foot hold, pulling it sharply back down. The men looked wide eyed downward to see a very pissed off looking female Autobot glaring up at them as she pulled with all her might to bring the Black Hawk back down. With the force of the helicopter, her one tire was squealing against the black pavement as it pulled her a little.

"Where do you think you're going with my human?" Arcee demanded before she used her other hand to grab the nylon cord and ripped it free from the side of the helicopter.

The man in the helicopter had to quickly catch a hand hold so that he wouldn't topple out. The helicopter pilot was sure having quite the time keeping airborne with a heavy metal robot hanging onto it. That is until, she let go and it went flying upward into the air. The pilot barely had time to catch the entire machine before it could lose too much altitude and go crashing down.

As for Mikaela and the man on the end of the cord, they swung helplessly in Arcee's hand before the man decided to just let the girl go. Mikaela screamed as she fell the ten feet down and hit the road. She cried out as she slid a little against the pavement, getting quite the road rash on her arms. But she seemed okay.

Until she heard the squealing tires of a car.

Spinning her head around, Mikaela looked up just in time to see a speeding car coming her way, yet slamming on their brakes to avoid hitting her. It wasn't going so well, though. She gasped before throwing her arms over her head, hoping that would do some good. But she highly doubted it because the car was coming in quite fast.

"Mikaela!" Sam cried out as he threw open Bumblebee's door and got out, looking horrified as he watched the car coming too fast towards her.

Suddenly there was a yelp of surprise and pain before a loud crunch of metal exploded right above Mikaela. She looked up just in time to see Arcee going flying right past her after rushing forward to stop the car from hitting her. But the impact of the crash sent the Autobot femme flying across the highway until she crashed into the oncoming lane, shattering the concrete wall and sending debris flying everywhere.

It did not help that several cars had just been coming from the other direction and slammed into Arcee, causing several of her parts flying all over the place. She got caught under a large dump truck that had been slamming on its brakes, causing her to be dragged until she got loose and was run over by the rear tires.

"Arcee!" Mikaela screamed in horror as she painfully got to her feet.

"NO!" Hot Rod suddenly yelled after a quick transformation. He quickly bolted from where he left Trent to run over to Mikaela and leapt over the remaining concrete barrier to where Arcee laid, quite shattered to pieces. He dropped heavily to his knees right next to her and lift her up into his arms, wincing only a little as Energon fluid was trailing right out of her.

Sam and Trent were very quick to rushing over to Mikaela, who now had tears spilling down her cheeks as she looked at her Guardian's broken form. "Mikaela! Are you okay?" Sam asked as he threw his arms around her before yanking back to look her over and wincing at the road rashes on her arms.

"Mikaela!" Dawn cried out as she quickly got out of Sideswipe and raced over to her friends.

As soon as she was cleared, Sideswipe hurried and transformed, looking wildly towards Hot Rod where he was holding Arcee. But his optics quickly darkened when they heard the helicopter coming back and he looked up just as it approached. This time, it looked like the humans onboard were looking ready to fire upon them. The machine gun on the side was starting to spin and heat up as if it was getting to fire.

Narrowing his eyes, Sideswipe lashed out one of his arms and let his ten foot blade shoot out before he slammed it down in to the road next to the humans, as if shielding them from the bullets that was going to come flying out at them. He rose his other arm and let it quickly transform into his cannons, aiming it at the cannon. He was not the only one.

With a swift transformation, Bumblebee was quickly at his side, bending down to add extra protection to their young friends as he rose his cannon and aimed it at the helicopter. His face shield slid down over his face, making him look that much more dangerous.

"I suggest," Sideswipe began very dangerously. He was obviously speaking directly to the helicopter pilot, who did look quite uneasy in the cockpit as his companion was preparing to fire upon them. "You fly away right now. If you think about firing on us, and you hurt these kids, I will not hesitate to fire right back. I'll probably get into trouble with Optimus, but if it's what it's going to take to protect these kids, you got it."

For a long hovering moment, the helicopter didn't move other than just hover there but it didn't fire. The two men still in the machine glanced at one another and seemed to just talk to one another before one of them touched the side of his helmet. He seemed to be getting some kind of transmission. He stood like that for a moment before he nodded to the pilot and made a quick twirl with his finger. The helicopter's machine gun shut down and it lowered another cord so that the man on the ground could grab it and get pulled back up.

The two glaring Autobot Warriors allowed them to take the man and leave, watching as the helicopter quickly flew away.

Soon it was quiet, as quiet as a stand still highway could be. It was then everyone noticed all of the gaping eyes from cars staring at them. There was some flashes of cameras as some of the humans quickly took pictures of them. And it so did not help that they heard the whup-whup-whup of another helicopter.

Sideswipe and Bumblebee quickly put up their guard again and looked up to see that there was a Fox 13 news helicopter coming towards them, probably after hearing news that there were four giant alien robots on Highway 89.

"Oh, Slag." Sideswipe murmured, grimacing. "We're in trouble."

"Sideswipe! Sides!" Hot Rod exclaimed painfully from the other Highway lane. Everyone jerked around to see that he was still kneeling on the road, holding Arcee tightly against his chest. "Sides! Arcee's in bad shape! We've got to get her to Ratchet!"

Feeling quite the pressure, Sideswipe glanced at Bumblebee before he quickly extracted his blade back into his arm and hurried towards the other two. Sam, Mikaela, Trent and Dawn glanced at one another before they hurried past the shattered concrete barrier to where Arcee laid. "Arcee!" Mikaela screamed as she hurried up to her guardian, tears staining her cheeks. She didn't get too close because Sam had to hold her back. There was so much Energon spilling right on the road.

"Oh, man." Sideswipe said, grimacing looking at all of it. "This isn't good. Arcee, you still with us?"

Arcee groaned painfully in a metallic way before her eyes flickered back on and she looked around. She glanced at Hot Rod and Sideswipe before tilting her head to look right at Mikaela. "Mik…..Mikaela…" She tried to speak but her voice was laced with electric pops and crackles. "Mik…are….you okay…..zap!"

Mikaela nodded her head as best as she could, trying to wipe tears out of her eyes. "Arcee! You're hurt! How bad is it?" She asked as she quickly looked her over.

Arcee painfully shook her head as she let her flickering eyes glance herself over before groaning painfully again. "Ba-Baa….bad. My warning sys-systems….g-going offfff…" Her voice seemed to having a short malfunction itself. "T-the…..forced…..re-ch-ch-charge al-al-alarm is go-go-going…..offff." She told them, looking directly at Sideswipe.

Sideswipe shook his head as he quickly looked around, seeing that more cars were stopping all around them. This was getting worst. They were exposed. There was no way that they were going to be able to cover this one up. Too many people were looking right at them right now. And that news helicopter above was probably getting shots of them in all different directions. "We got to get out of here. There's too many humans. Arcee, can you manage to transform? I can carry you on my back if I have to." He told her, looking back down at her.

But Arcee shook her head, which looked like it was going to fall off her shoulders. It was barely holding on due to the wires connecting it. "Si-Sides…..Sideswipe…yo-yo-you're jus-jus-just going t-t-t-to have t-t-to leave meeeee."

"No! I won't!" Hot Rod nearly shouted, tightening his grip on her.

Arcee gave him a painful but trying to be stern look. She knew that this wasn't going too well. She couldn't transform. She was too shattered and broken to do so. But if they stayed any longer, there was going to be more trouble. "Ho-Ho-Hotttttt Ro-Ro-Rod…..you ha-have t-t-t-toooo…Ju-ju-jus-ttttt ge-ttt…..get…..out of….of….of he-he-here…" She said painfully.

"No! I'm not leaving you, babe! If I have to carry you in my arms, I will." Hot Rod said stubbornly.

"Arcee, I am so sorry! This is all my fault!" Mikaela cried, tears spilling down her cheeks even heavier than before.

"No, it's not, Mickey." Trent said, his tone darkening before he turn sharply around and glared directly at Leo as he stood almost dumbly still on the other side of the concrete barrier. "It's his fault!" He turned and shot towards the startled young man who was still staring at them. He would have ran right at Leo and threw a fist at him if Sideswipe hadn't spun around and caught him with his hand. "Sideswipe! Let go! It's Spitz's fault!"

Sideswipe quickly shook his head as he gave him a stern look. "Trent! Stop! Beating Leo Spitz up right now isn't going to help! Calm down!" He told him, but Trent continued trying to get past his hand so he ended up having to just pick him up.

"Look what you did, Leo! You just killed Arcee! She helped save your miserable ass! You brought those Department guys here! This is…!" Trent continued to rant.

But it was right at that moment, Dawn suddenly started screaming as if she was in pain.

Every head whirled around to see what was going on and eyes widened to see that Dawn had curled up in a fetal position on her knees, clutching her head. It was like she was having a huge massive headache. But headaches didn't make people scream like that. She looked like she was in a lot of pain.

Quickly, Sideswipe set Trent down and bent over her, looking horrified. "Dawn! Dawn, what's wrong? What's happening?" he asked frantically.

Dawn shook her head between her hands, her back starting to arch. "My…..My back! And my head! It's burning!" She gasped between breaths before letting out another scream. Mikaela quickly pulled away from Sam and rushed to her side, grabbing for her shoulders. She quickly grabbed at Dawn's shirt from behind and wrenched it up a little so they could see what was wrong. But her eyes, like everyone's widened with shock.

There was a mark starting to darken upon Dawn's skin, looking as if an invisible hand was tracing a dark tattoo right on her back. It was Cybertronian, by the looks of it.

Just then, Dawn threw her head back, and everyone saw, with alarm, that her eyes seemed to be glowing bright ice-blue. It was like someone had just turned a bright light on within her head before Mikaela cried out in pain as sparks began to spill right out of her skin. She had to leap back as the sparks trailed down Dawn's arms and body before trickling towards Arcee. Everyone watched with shock and alarm as they watched the sparks lash out at the heavily damaged femme before leaking into her. Hot Rod even yelped as he seemed to be zapped by them but he managed to keep a hold of Arcee. He was not going to let her go for one second, no matter what was happening.

There was a loud metallic throbbing sound before everyone watched in surprise as Arcee's metal parts began to flicker and move as if there was a magnet on her. The damaged metal began to twist and bend all on its own until they snapped back right where they were supposed to be.

Metal screws and pieces lying on the ground all around them, shot towards Arcee, slamming into her and finding places to settle their selves. It alarming but the humans and the three Autobots realized that somehow, Dawn was fixing Arcee! They couldn't explain it!

"Wh-what's happening? What's going on? Dawn! What are you doing?" Trent yelled over the bending and twisting metal.

Everyone heard squealing tires and police sirens over the loud noise and they spun their heads to see a bright yellow Corvette and Dodge Ram Charger police cruiser speed right up to them before they quickly transformed into Sunstreaker and Prowl. They looked just as shocked and alarmed to see what was going on.

"Sideswipe! What happened? What is going on?" The Chief of Security demanded as he rushed over to them.

Sideswipe could only shake his head as he looked wide eyed back between Dawn and Arcee just as the sparks from both of them were getting brighter. He couldn't explain it. He didn't know how to. But all they could do was watch as Arcee's shattered form seemed to mold back together before her eyes flashed brightly and she shot up into a sitting position with a gasp. Dawn's own form gave a jerk as the sparks suddenly vanished and she fell backwards, almost landing on the ground if Sideswipe hadn't quickly lashed out his hand and caught her. "Dawn!" He cried out, lifting her up and over Mikaela. He frantically looked her over before realizing that she was unconscious.

But one thing was for certain, Arcee was looking around with wide, alarmed eyes, looking herself over and seeing that she was completely fixed. Even the Energon that had been spilling across the street seemed to have been sucked right back up into her. She looked wide eyed at Dawn in Sideswipe's hand. "Sideswipe, is she…?" She asked with worry.

"She's asleep. Whatever just happened to her, it tired her out." Sideswipe announced after quickly checking Dawn's status. He looked directly at Prowl, whose head was starting to smoke dangerously. "Prowl, man, don't even think about glitching out on us. Don't think about what just happened. We should probably get out of here."

Prowl did a quick shake of his head and looked around at all of the gaping eyes of humans before he nodded. "We're returning to the base. You've all done enough damage already. And Optimus Prime is not going to be happy about this." He glanced at Dawn in Sideswipe's hand. "As soon as we get back, we better let Ratchet take a look at her. Maybe he'll know what just happened to her. Autobots! Gather your humans and roll out!" He ordered before quickly transforming.

Everyone was quick to follow and doors threw open to let their humans quickly jump in. Sam had to wave to Leo to jump in. And this time, Leo did what he was told, not wanting to miss this. He didn't know what happened, like everyone else. But it was only a matter of time before he found out the truth.

Tires squealed and the six Autobots quickly sped away down the street with gaping human eyes following them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note:
> 
> These are the songs that Bumblebee used to speak;
> 
> Toya-I Messed up  
> Information Society-Signals  
> Alice In Chains-Don't Follow


	6. Cause For Concern

"…..reports from Highway 89 in Utah, between Farmington and Salt Lake City that there was some kind of explosion on the highway. We heard from the Fox 13 news chopper that there were four unidentified machines standing around, facing a Black Hawk helicopter. There are many eye witnesses who were stuck at the stand still had seen the helicopter swoop down and pull a girl off a motorcycle. But only moments after, the motorcycle transformed into some kind of robot. The robot attacked the helicopter, pulling the girl and a man off it and then had to stop a car from hitting the girl when she fell onto the road." The news reporter stated as she made her report. "Eyewitnesses stated that another car struck the robot and threw it through the concrete barrier where it was hit multiple times before stopping on the oncoming lane. The four unidentified robots were accompanied by what looked like five young teenagers, or young adults, including the girl. The Fox 13 news chopper was able to catch some footage of the robots as you see here before there was some kind of electrical interference. We lost the rest of the footage after that, but our reporters and the pilot did say that the damaged robot somehow repaired itself and all of the robots transformed into vehicles, speeding off. We have no idea where the strange robots in disguise went, nor could we identify the young men and women with them. Now, no one has claimed responsibility of the strange machines but there are sources saying that they believe that the Government is involved. We have no word from the President if he knows about it, but we will get back to you when we have more information. All we can ask ourselves is what were those machines and where did they even go. And we have to ask, are the rumors of alien robots being on Earth true? Back to you…."

The screen shut off after the news reports and many eyes wandered accusingly to the four Autobots who had been involved.

Prowl had been right. Optimus Prime wasn't too happy with what just happened. Neither had been Simmons, who everyone learned that Sunstreaker and Prowl had left him at a Gas station in Lephi so they could rush off to help the others. He had been fuming when they got back and when he learned that they had been exposed, he hadn't stopped yelling until even Prowl got tired of listening to him. He filled his inside with sleeping gas to knock the Agent out to shut him up.

Now, the six Autobots and the young adults were back in the Grand Canyon Autobot-NEST base, looking either guilty or just standing there.

The reports about the exposure were going out everywhere, country side. And the Base had been getting calls from Secretary Keller to find out what happened. But no one could explain it just yet. They were just looking at what the damage was on the media and they found that it was worst than they could have hoped.

Especially after the media had gotten almost over a hundred calls from eye witnesses.

Optimus Prime, unlike a few others, was shaking his head as he placed his hand against his face. He was definitely not happy but at least he wasn't yelling at Sideswipe, Hot Rod, Arcee or Bumblebee for blowing their cover. Not like Simmons was doing right now.

"What the heck were you guys thinking? You're all over the news! You got more than a hundred people taking your pictures right off the street! You just tore up Highway 89 and caused at least a nine car crash!" The NEST Agent was ranting and raving before jabbing his finger towards Prowl and Sunstreaker, who both gave him dull looks. "And you two! You left me at Gas station, looking like a complete idiot!"

"It's not that very hard to do. You already look like an idiot." Epps remarked as he folded his arms and leaned against Mirage's leg with Blaster copying his stance. "And you are an idiot."

Simmons shot him a look and jabbed a finger towards him. "Oh, don't you start with me, Epps! I don't want to hear it…!"

"Simmons, will you just give it a rest!" Tom Banachek asked sharply before sighing and looking at the four Autobots responsible for the exposure. He gave them a look over before looking at Sam next as he stood with Mikaela, Trent and even Leo as they hovered near the medical bed where Ratchet was looking Dawn over.

Upon returning to the base, Dawn had still been unconscious from what happened to her but once Ratchet set her on the medical berth to examine her, she had woken up. She nearly well regretted it too because she was completely sore. Her entire body felt strained and her back was still aching a little. She still felt like she had a headache but it wasn't as bad as before. She was now sitting on the higher medical bed for the Autobots, with only her jeans and tank top on. Ratchet was still puzzling over the strange Cybertronian marking that was on her back. It had not vanished like they thought it had.

After a brief moment, Banachek met eyes with Sam again, who just barely noticed that he was being stared at. "Sam, what happened? What caused the Autobots to expose their selves?" He asked.

Sam looked impatiently away, briefly glancing at Leo, who winced as he knew he was going to get blamed for this. But instead, Sam shook his head and looked back at Banachek. "It was the Department. They came after Leo Spitz. He knows about them, in some way. They must have known he had been poking around their system and came after him. It wasn't the Autobots' fault and it wasn't Leo's. It was the Department. They attacked us, nearly took Mikaela. But Arcee was doing what she promised she would do. She was protecting Mikaela. Everything else just fell apart." He explained.

Sighing, Optimus finally dropped his hand, glancing over the young adults before looking at Arcee. "Arcee, you are all right, correct?" He asked, sounding concerned.

Arcee nodded, still looking a little guilty for being the start of the entire unraveling of their existence. "I'm okay. Thanks to Dawn." She said, looking at the girl mentioned. "I can't explain what happened though. I don't even know how she repaired me."

Optimus just nodded before looking over at Ratchet, who was still puzzling over Dawn. He was carefully running scans all over her body and on the marking on her back. He stepped a little closer to the two, meeting Ratchet's gaze. "Ratchet, what can you tell us about what happened with Dawn? Do you know anything yet?" He asked, calmly.

Sighing heavily, Ratchet shook his head. "No, Optimus. I don't have a clue what happened. There is no indication that Dawn should have been able to repair Arcee like she did. I am reading some high levels of energy that above normal for her. But there is not that much." He looked back down at the marking on Dawn's back, frowning deeply. "The high levels of energy is coming directly from this marking. But I'm afraid I can't read it. This is Ancient Cybertronian. It's of the forgotten language." He told them.

Even Optimus had to frown as he looked down at the marking. There was something familiar about it though. He couldn't quite put his finger on it of where he had seen this marking. The marking looked more like a jaggered T with squiggly lines attached to it, curving and twisting. But it wasn't any Cybertronian symbol he'd ever seen before. Or at least, that he knew of.

"That's Ancient Cybertronian for Life."

Everyone stiffened for a second before they turned to look at the glowing red eyes peering at them from the corner of the medical room. They had almost forgotten that Jetfire was there. He always stood so quiet in the corners, watching as everyone else tried to figure out what was going on. But when he saw the symbol on Dawn's back, he was staring very hard at it. But then everyone took in what he said and they all looked rather surprised.

"Jetfire, you can read this?" Optimus asked, looking at the only Decepticon on the Autobot side.

Jetfire let his red eyes flicker up to Optimus Prime's blue gaze before letting them drop back down onto the symbol. He was quiet for a moment before he moved over to stand right next to Ratchet. "Yes, I can. I am the oldest Cybertronian alive on Earth, after all. I can read Ancient Cybertronian so I know this word. And you should to, in a way. It's symbol that was on the All Spark. It means Life." He looked back up at Optimus, who was just as surprised as everyone did. "I'm only running on guesses right now, Prime. But if I'm right, Dawn is carrying energy directly from the All Spark shard. The All Spark energy must have transferred to her when she saved by the Shard. When Arcee was badly damaged like she was, the All Spark energy within Dawn must have sensed the bad damage and kicked in." He announced.

Still, everyone was very surprised.

Sideswipe looked at Dawn, who was staring up at Jetfire as if he just started singing for no reason and was un-nerved by it. "So, what does that mean? Does that mean she's…Dawn is some kind of new All Spark?" He asked, not sounding entirely happy, just alarmed.

"Of course not!" Jetfire snapped, giving Sideswipe an annoyed look. "It's impossible for a human to become the All Spark. The All Spark maybe a strange source of energy but it would never take the form of a human. It's too complex for human forms. It has its own way of life but it is not a living thing. Humans are." He shook his head, looking back at the symbol on Dawn's back, narrowing his eyes. "It's true that something like this has never happened before, but it is in ancient texts that the All Spark could transfer some of its energy into an organic being as a vessel if it ever was destroyed. It's too complicated to explain. And I'm only running on guesses, here! What I am trying to get at, when Dawn was poisoned by pure Energon and we used the All Spark Shard to save her life, the Shard transferred some of its energy to her. Until we find the new All Spark, she is stuck with that energy inside of her."

"Okay. That doesn't sound too bad." Trent remarked, with a shrug sharing a glance with Sam and Mikaela. "I mean, if Dawn has that kind of energy, maybe that is good thing. Whenever you guys get smashed up, maybe she can repair you guys. She can learn how to control it, can't she?"

It actually sounded a little farfetched but it was an idea that had everyone at least a little interested.

But Jetfire looked rather grave at the very sound of it. He slowly shook his head as he looked down at Trent. "Do you honestly think that a mere human is going to be able to contain pure energy from the All Spark?" He shook his head before motioning to Dawn. "Take a very good look at her, Trent. She's weakened from the first time. It wore her down to where she can barely sit up on her own. Using the energy of the All Spark is too dangerous. It is raw energy. I'm surprised she even managed to wake up after all that mess. If she ends up using that energy again, it might just kill her." He told him sternly.

That had everyone stiffen and look at Dawn with worry. Sideswipe looked the worst horrified. He even started to shake a little at the very idea of her dying because of raw energy, he didn't know if he could take that. "Ho-How do we get rid of it? How can we help her?" He asked almost frantically.

It was Optimus's turn to shake his head as he began to realize what Jetfire was talking about. "If it can be removed from Dawn, it might be dangerous. But I'm thinking the only way of doing so is to find the new All Spark. That All Spark energy must be returned to its rightful state."

Jetfire nodded as he shared a glance with the Prime. "That's what I'm thinking. If we get that energy back into the All Spark, it might just as well as save her. But, the only thing we got to worry about is that she doesn't have to use the All Spark Energy again." He remarked.

"And that means, none of us can go getting our selves nearly off lined." Hot Rod stated, giving Arcee a light smile. "That means you can't try and die on me again, babe."

Arcee gave him a dull look but it was clear she was hiding a smile. She decided not to even remark to that. She just frowned again and looked back down at Dawn with worry, noting that she wasn't looking too excited about her new predicament. And no one could blame her one bit.

"That also means," Optimus stated as he looked gently down at Dawn, who glanced up at him. "We will have to take certain precautions with Dawn. She will need to have more protection than before. Because if Megatron and the Decepticons find out that she's carrying the All Spark energy, they will most likely come after her again. They will want to use her to create a bigger Decepticon army." He looked directly at Sideswipe, who stiffened at that news. "That also means, you're going to need watch her a lot closer, Sides. She cannot leave your side for one moment while out in public."

Sideswipe only nodded with a firm look on his face. He glanced over his shoulder when Sunstreaker stepped closer to him, folding his arms against his chest as if looking like a giant bodyguard. "Don't worry about that, Optimus Prime, sir." He said looking away from his twin brother. "I will die before I let anything happen to Dawn. And I've got Sunny with me."

Sunstreaker only bobbed his head sharply as he let his eyes flicker down to Dawn, who smiled gratefully up at him. "I'm not letting anything happen to her. She's practically my little sister now." He said firmly.

"Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute." Leo finally spoke up, looking from Dawn to Sideswipe and back. He seemed to be putting together something and by the look on his face, he wasn't liking it very much. He pointed to Dawn then motioned to Sideswipe. "Hey, Sam said that guy is supposed to be Josh. Isn't Josh your boyfriend? Does that mean…?" He asked, crinkling his nose.

Almost eyed him dully while Dawn rose her eyebrows at him and nodded. "Yeah. Sides is Josh, in his human form. So that means Sideswipe is my boyfriend. Why? Does that bother you?" She asked dryly.

For a moment, Leo stared at her with surprise before his face twisted into a look of gross out. He looked as if someone had just wiped snot on him. "Oh, man. That's just disgusting. You're dating a giant alien robot. That's just whacked out." He remarked.

The look he got now from Dawn, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and a few others could have definitely been mistaken as a look of murder. They glared at him for his remark. The twins even started growling and started to step towards Leo but Ironhide stepped in the way and held them back, but he didn't look any happier than they did.

However, it was Mikaela who gritted her teeth and walked straight up to Leo, grabbing him roughly by the shirt, glaring up into his eyes since he was only a little taller than she was. "Don't you dare insult Dawn and Sideswipe, Leo! Who cares if he's an alien robot! They love each other! That's all that matters!" She snapped.

"Well, that's just weird! A human girl dating a robot? An alien robot? That's totally….eww!" Leo said making a face.

Mostly everyone was glaring at him now, even some of the American Soldiers in the room. Epps shook his head as he dropped his arms, giving the new guy a look. "Kid, you don't know anything about these guys. You don't know how alive the Cybertronians really are. They aren't just made of space metal. They have more heart than anyone else on this planet." He said dryly.

"And you haven't seen Dawn and Sides together." Sam added, giving his roommate quite the look. "Sideswipe has saved her life more than once. And she cares about who he really is. Now what he's made of. If you knew Dawn's background, you would see why she loves him. They maybe different kinds of people from different worlds from one another, but they have the same the heart. They have the same Spark together."

Leo just looked around at everyone but shook his head. "Yeah, but that's just…" He was saying.

Dawn sighed heavily before she glanced up at Ratchet as if asking him if he was done with her. And when he nodded, she dropped the back of her shirt and pushed herself to her feet. She looked right at Sides, who understood that look and moved over, offering his hand to her. She stepped onto his hand and held onto one of his fingers as he brought her close to his chest, where she climbed up onto his shoulder and sat down beside his head. "Leo, I really don't give a damn what you or anyone else think about me and Sides. I love Sideswipe not just because he's different. Because he cared for me. He's my best friend other than Sam, Mikaela and Trent. And Bumblebee. And all of the Autobots. Optimus Prime and Ratchet are more like my father than my real father or my stepfather, Nik is. The Autobots are my new family." Her eyes narrowed down at him with a serious glint in her eyes. "And you, like every critic in the world, don't understand them. You thought they came here to destroy the Earth and all of its humans. Well, guess what? They're not here to kill us. They're here to save us. Sides, Arcee, Bee and Hot Rod just helped save your life from the Department. And you just helped expose them."

"Speaking of which," Simmons interrupted, glaring at Leo next. He walked straight up to the young man, jabbing a finger into his chest. "You have a lot of explaining to do! You're the little hackrat that's been breaking into Government secrets and gathering info on the Autobots! And you have info on the Department! So why don't you just spill it?" He demanded.

Leo frowned directly at him before he stepped back and folded his arms across his chest. "How about you kiss my butt, pubic head? I ain't saying anything without a lawyer!" He remarked.

"Pubic head?" Simmons ground out angrily before stepped forward as if to start something with Leo.

But Will Lennox hurried forward and grabbed his arm, pulling him back. He had to push him back a little before turning to face Leo, frowning at him. "Leo Spitz, look. There's really not much of what we can say to make you trust the Autobots. You don't know them yet. But we do. They are friends of the Planet Earth. Dawn just told you. They are here to protect us from their counterparts, the Decepticons." He told him.

"Yeah ? Well, why are you guys and the Government hiding them from Earth?" Leo challenged.

Sam shook his head as he wrapped an arm around Mikaela, letting her lean her head against his shoulder. "The Earth wasn't ready to know about them, Leo. They didn't reveal the Cybertronians because if they did, the world would have panicked. There's probably a lot of people panicking right now and you don't even know about it. There's that, and because of the Decepticons." He told him.

Leo shook his head, almost impatiently. "Who the heck are these Deceptio-whatevers that you're talking about? I don't get it!" He cried out, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I am!" Jetfire growled, stomping his foot and making the ground shake a little. He nearly laughed sharply when Leo jumped and looked wide eyed at him. He just glared down at the human nearly below him. "I am a Decepticon! I maybe with the Autobots but the Decepticons are here to destroy life on Earth! And steal all of the Earth's energy sources! The Autobots are here to stop them from killing humans! Open your fragging ears!"

"Jetfire." Optimus Prime sighed, reaching over and pressing a hand against the former Decepticon's shoulder, trying to calm him down. He turned his blue eyes down onto Leo. "Leo Spitz, we are not here to hurt your people. We're here to protect them. We came to do that and we have made many allies and friends out of them." He motioned around the room to all of the people that were there, as well as a few others that were entering the room. He paused only for a second when a very large Autobot walked into the room and smiled. "I think I also owe you a word of thanks." He looked back down at Leo who was frowning in confusion. "You helped Rex Rory save my older brother's life."

"Hey!"

Heads turned around and everyone saw the spoken person standing right on his Guardian's shoulder, whom offered his hand to the boy and slowly put him down to the ground. Rex Rory had finally arrived with Ultra Magnus Spitfire and Elena, whom looked quite surprised to see a new face.

Rex just grinned as he jogged over to where Leo was standing and looked up at him. "Hey! You're masterspitzy_spitz, right? Leo?" he asked, almost excited.

Leo just frowned, scrunching his brow before he nodded. "Yeah. And you are…?" He asked.

Still grinning, Rex just stood up straighter as if proud. "I'm Rex Rory! You know, t-rex. You helped me save my best friend, Ultra Magnus." He turned and looked up at the massive red Autobot standing over them before looking back at Leo. "Thanks, man! For all of your help! If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have been able to save Magnus! And I remember I told you that I would introduce you to him! Magnus, this is Leo! He's the guy who helped me, Elita One and everyone into the Department base! Leo, meet Ultra Magnus!"

Leo's jaw had fallen while his eyes bugged out before he looked up at the large Autobot who nodded once to him. "Whoa…" he could only say. He was amazed by the size of this guy.

"So," came Maggie's voice as she walked right up the growing group. "You're the so called Master of Hackers, masterspitzy_spitz."

Leo tore his eyes away from Ultra Magnus and looked at her before his eyes grew wider, a flash of recognition flickered into his eyes. He definitely knew her face and eventually, he put on a challenging look on his face. "The Golden Widow."

Maggie just rolled her eyes at what he just called her before she walked up to him and folding her arms, giving him a very serious look. "Optimus Prime, Banachek, Simmons," She said, looking at each one before turning a very annoyed stern look back onto Leo. "I did some looking in onto Leo Spitz's computer and I know why the Department went after him."

"Huh? What do you mean…?" Leo said, now looking flabbergasted.

Maggie shut up with a raised finger jabbed towards his face before she turned her hand, holding it out to him. "Give me your memory stick." She told him.

Leo stiffened for a moment before he shook his head, his hand covering one of his pockets. "I, uh…..don't know what you're talking about…." He started to say.

"Give me the bloody memory stick before I have to kick your arse! I am not in the mood to argue with a second rate hacker like you! I've been arguing with Sunstreaker all week because he can be such a nag!" Maggie snapped, her eyes narrowing. "I found traces on your computer of what you were doing, Spitz. The information that you took from the Department has a tracking program on one of the files, you idiot. That's how they found you! The only computer that can break the tracking file is Teletraan. If you don't want to face those men again, you'll give it to me."

"Listen to her, Leo." Sam remarked, looking at him. "Maggie knows what she's talking about. And we really need to see what you found on the Department."

Leo just glanced at him before he rolled his eyes, holding his breath for a moment. Then he finally dug into his pocket and yanked out the flash drive and slapped it into Maggie's hand. "Whatever." He muttered.

Maggie rolled her eyes before she turned around and looked up at the metallic green Autobot, Hound, who had Glenn in his hand. She motioned to him, which he nodded and lowered his hand, allowing her to climb up with her fellow IT. He stood up straight and wandered to a large computer in the wall, holding up his hand to the keyboard sticking out of the wall. Maggie stepped off his hand and went to a port in near the giant screen. She plugged the memory stick in and then looked up at the screen. "Human Intelligence Tech Destination, Maggie Madsen. Teletraan, scan the memory stick and locate the tracking file on it. Once you find it, deactivate it." She just called out.

"What the heck…" Leo was saying.

"Teletraan acknowledges. Scanning memory stick for tracking file." The robotic voice of the computer spoke before several symbols began to light up on the screen. It only took a moment before they stopped. "Tracking file located and deactivated."

"Good." Maggie said before she turned and looked at Optimus. "Optimus, the Department information is ready to look at. Should we continue?"

Optimus just nodded, sharing a glance with Banachek and Simmons. "Why don't you, Glenn, Anya and Hound go over the information first. I don't think we're quite ready here just yet. We still have a few things to discuss." He told her.

Maggie just nodded before looking at Hound and unplugging the memory stick and stepped onto the Autobot IT's hand. She just glanced at Leo who started to protest but she chose to ignore him as the Autobot took them out. "Hey! That's mine!" He said, starting to follow but Epps dropped a hand onto his shoulder and pulled him back. "Hey, man! What's the deal…?" He was saying.

"We're not quite finished with you yet, Mister Spitz." Banachek said, folding his arms and tilting his head. He sighed softly before taking a few steps towards him, glancing at the ground. "You sure caused quite the problem for us. You were going to expose the Cybertronians and I think you should know how serious this is."

"So, what?" Leo said, making a face at him. "You, Government guys, are all the same. You're just trying to hide…"

"Leo, because you exposed the Cybertronians, you just gave the Decepticons a reason to start acting up." Sam said, making a face. "The Decepticons might be here to destroy Earth and all, but they weren't going to go open season on humans because they didn't know about them. And now, Earth knows about them. It might have just given the Decepticons a reason they were looking for to start trouble."

"Oh." Was all that Leo could say.

"Oh, is right." Banachek said dully before he turned and looked up at Optimus. "We're getting calls from Secretary Keller and the President, Optimus Prime. They're asking what happened and they want to know what you intend to do about this mess. Your Autobots exposed your cover. With or without Leo Spitz's help. People are going to start panicking because of this. What do you think we should do about this?"

Sighing heavily, Optimus Prime turned slightly away, reaching up and cupping his chin with his large hand. He wasn't too sure what the best possible solution was but there was only one thing he could think of doing that would solve the entire problem. He knew a lot of people were going to be too happy by it but he didn't see what choice they had. "Contact the Secretary and the President. Tell them they're going to need to hold a UN conference to let everyone else know that things have gone far enough." He turned and looked around the room at everyone. "This entire situation has only shown that we can't hide any more. The World knows of our existence know and they will panic if we don't tell them something. It's time that we, the Autobots, introduced ourselves to your people. It's time that they know who we are and why we're here. It's time to stop hiding. Leo Spitz is right." He said, glancing down at the spoken person, who looked surprised. "Your world has a right to know what is going on now. And either they are ready or not, they do have that right."

Everyone in the room glanced at one another but they didn't say anything. They knew that Optimus had a point. It was time to let the world know of their new neighbors and protectors. People were getting too suspicious of them as it was. There were stories all over about the alien robots and some people were uneasy about them. So maybe it was time to let them know the truth.

But everyone's fears and hopes were the same; human and Autobots alike. They just hoped that the Decepticons wouldn't take advantage of it.


	7. World Meet The Autobots

It nearly took an entire week of arguing and explaining to the UN about Optimus Prime's choice of finally revealing himself and the Autobots to the world. They had not liked the whole idea about the revealing of the Cybertronians. They had wanted to keep them a secret and away from the world. But Optimus had given them pretty much the same speech he gave Banachek, Keller and the U.S. President. He told them all that it was time to stop hiding the truth and let the world know what was being hidden from them. He explained that if they continued to hide the Cybertronians' existence, the entire world would learn not to trust them and there would be serious consequences. He told the UN that it would be better if they showed their selves first before the Decepticons decided to. Because one thing was for sure, if the Decepticons decided to introduce their selves first, the world would only know fear of all Cybertronians.

So, the decision was made and the UN decided to let Optimus Prime and the Autobots introduce their selves to the entire world.

The World Press Conference was arranged for the very next week after sending out messages to every single news station and news paper in the world. They had made it clear that there was going to be some really big news and they were welcomed to send only one representative from each news station and news paper company, due to where it was going to be held at. There wouldn't be enough room for the entire world to attend to the Conference.

So hundreds of reporters were flocking to Washington D.C, to the United States Capitol, where the conference was going to be held at.

The day of the World Wide Conference, three large vid screens were set up, being held up by cranes for all to see. There would be many cameras set up; some up close and some in the back. Reporters from all over were already starting to find their seats while everything was getting set up. There were even a few news vehicles but they, unfortunately for them, had to be left in the parking lots.

It was honestly funny to say that the World Wide Conference looked more like a huge car show because of all of the Autobots parked right on the yard right in front of the Capitol Building. Every one of the Autobots were there, with their humans allies. Almost all of the US Soldiers that were involved with the Autobots stood on upper level of the Capitol building in their uniforms, standing tall and firm. Even Vladimir Karpos was there, standing with his daughter, Anya right next to the Blackbird Jet right in the yard. All of the young teens and young adults were there with their Guardians and best friends. And in front of the entire group of hot sports cars and large trucks sat Optimus Prime in his semi truck form. Each one of the Autobots were in their holographic human forms standing next to their real bodies, with all of their friends. Reno Banes was sitting in Optimus' cab with the door open, looking at the hundreds of people starting to sit down in the large crowd. He looked just as serious as everyone did about the entire situation that they were being put through.

And finally the World Wide Conference began.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls." A US official called the attention as soon as everyone was seated and everything was ready. He looked quite firm and serious, while all of the Autobots and the humans looked nervous. They would rather face Decepticons than face the entire world. "This World Wide Press Conference is now about to begin. Please, give your full attention to the Secretary of Defense Department, John Keller."

The entire audience erupted by applause and some cheers as John Keller stepped out from the Capitol Building and made his way to the podium at the railing, overlooking the entire Capitol yard. On the three large screens, it zoomed in on him, allowing everyone to see him better. Keller waited as the applause started to die down before he cleared his throat and began.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls of the World." Keller spoke firmly and calmly in his official tone. "The entire is watching this moment of truth as we speak. I have been chosen by the entire UN and all of the World's leaders to approach all of you with this announcement. As most of the world has probably heard, there have been rumors and stories about certain events that have been happening on the US soil. There have been stories about giant alien robots that have been sighted all over the world and in your cities." He paused for a moment to look around, and for only a brief moment, he looked very uncomfortable as if he did not want to do this. But taking a deep breath, Keller nodded only once as he let his eyes scour every single face that was watching and waiting for it. "People of the Planet Earth, I am here, as one of your representative, to announce that the rumors that you have all heard…they are true."

Immediately people began to talk excitedly and reports tried to stand up and shout questions to Keller. They all looked either excited or alarmed by what Keller was saying.

But Keller quickly held up a hand to silence everyone and didn't speak until it quieted down. He waited till no one was standing and trying to shout questions before continuing. "Please hold all questions. No questions will be answered until I am finished." He warned the entire audience. He looked around for a moment before briefly glancing at Optimus's human form, who stood up straighter. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it was a discussion made by all of your world leaders to reveal this information. They all made the decision to withhold the information of these new beings on our Planet to avoid massive panic and pointing fingers. The entire UN knew that it would have been disastrous if the public knew about these new beings.

"But after three years of discovery and getting to know our new Intergalactic neighbors, it is safe to say that they are not a threat to our Planet. At the most part, anyway. They came here to bring peace to us. They did not come here with the intention of harming our World's people. And for three years, they have lived among us and have gained the trust of your World Leaders. They have become very close allies to our world. We have learned much from them and we learned that they are on Earth as our Protectors." Keller paused for a moment as he continued to look around the entire audience before he lift his head. "Everyone of Earth, I must ask the entire world not to pass harsh judgment of these beings and of your World Leaders for concealing this information. It was only necessary to keep worldwide panic and fear of these beings. It is up until recently have these alien beings lived among humankind and grown very fond of us. They came here to protect Earth and not to destroy us. It is strongly against their beliefs to harm mankind, though we honestly don't need them for that. We do that all on their own. And it is under my own belief that we can learn something from them. We can learn how to attain the peace that our entire world needs to survive and thrive." He glanced at Optimus again before looking back. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Planet Earth, I will now turn your attention to one of the Leaders of the Cybertronians. Please hold all questions until he has finished addressing you. And I implore all of you, listen very closely to his words. I beg of you to keep an open mind and heart to his words. He has become a very close friend to myself, to the President of the United States, to the United Nations, and to many humans on our Planet. I give you, Optimus Prime." He said, now holding his hand out to Optimus.

There was a sudden wave of murmurs and talk as some decided to show some respect and stand up to welcome Optimus as he took the podium. Many eyes grew wide and mouths fell to see him in his human form. They all had been expecting something else and it wasn't too surprising to most. Most of the entire audience stared at Optimus in surprise and confusion as he stood at the podium, taking John Keller's hand and giving it a shake like they had talked about before the Conference had began. But slowly, the applause died down and everyone sat back down to watch and listen.

Optimus stood tall and proud next to John Keller, giving him a faint smile before he looked straight at all of the wary eyes watching him. He just took a deep breath and lift his head higher. He kept a gentle look about him, not wanting to give a bad impression at all. He wanted to make this as good as he could get.

"People of Earth, I am Optimus Prime. Leader of a fraction called the Autobots. We are called Cybertronians of a distant planet called Cybertron. We have come to your planet in peace. We came to protect your people from another fraction of Cybertronians called the Decepticons. They have come to Earth to steal all of your natural resources and energy. They have intentions opposite of our own but we intend to keep all of mankind safe from them. We have been working alongside your World's militaries to make sure that the Decepticons cause no harm to anyone. The deception of this knowledge was necessary for your own protection. We hid from your world to avoid panic and fear. Protecting Earth in secret was our intentions. But until recently, it is now not possible for such a task. It would have been better if your world did not know about us but until recent situations have called otherwise. We do not wish to cause fear and panic upon your world. We only wish for peace and safety for all of Earth." He spoke calmly.

"We, the Autobots, have made many friendships with many of your people from different Nations, hoping to make Earth our second home with peace and prosperity. But it is not possible without the world actually knowing the truth. That is why we, the Autobots and your World's Governments have made the decision of revealing ourselves. People of Earth," Optimus said firmly, keeping his head up high. "We are only here for your protection and we will give our very lives to keep Earth and her people safe from any means of harm. It is strongly believed by the Autobots that all sentient beings have the right to choose for their selves. We are only here to make sure that the future of your planet and her people does not meet the same fate as our Planet has.

"War is what destroyed Cybertron, our world. Hatred and fear is what killed all of our people. There are only One thousand, three hundred, forty-eight Cybertronians left alive, as far as we know because of the war that raged upon Cybertron. The war between Autobots and Decepticons have destroyed millions of Cybertronians. We do not want to see your Planet share the same fate as ours have. The Decepticons were the first to bring it to Earth. The Autobots only followed to make sure that nothing happened to Earth's people. We will do what it takes to protect all humankind. And we can only hope that you will listen with all of your wills and hearts and we can only hope for a bright future of your people." Optimus continued. "We, the Autobots, wish to live among your people, helping you live in peace and protecting your planet for the harsh war that has followed. As Leader of the Autobots, I will give my very life to make sure that every human on this planet remains safe. My Autobots feel just the same. They will protect you with everything they have. And we can only hope that you will accept our protection of your world. I thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you and I can only hope that you will give us this chance to prove ourselves and our word of safety." He finally finished.

For a moment there was only silence before a roar of applause exploded from the audience as people stood up and cheered for Optimus' words. John Keller stepped forward next to the Autobot Leader again before nodding. "We will now take questions and answer at our best. Please, wait till I point to you to ask your questions." He told them.

Immediately, people began talking at once, raising their hands for their questions first but Keller held up a hand and pointed to a reporter near the front for her question first. Everyone respected his decision and sat back down, being quiet so that she could ask her question.

"Mister Prime," She began.

Smiling faintly, Optimus shook his head as he looked right at her. "Please, Optimus Prime will do." He told her gently.

That only brought a smile to many faces, including the reporters before she nodded. "Optimus Prime, you say you and your people are here for Earth's protection, but you were only Earth for three years. So, why hide from us for so long? Why not sooner?" She had to call out her question.

Again, Optimus smiled faintly as he considered the question for a moment before he shook his head as he kept his eyes right on the reporter. "I must answer this question with a question of my own. Do you think that the entire Earth was ready to know of alien life without fear?" He shook his head again, continuing to smile faintly. "There are many means of entertainment for humans about how aliens come to Earth with the means of destroying it. We did not want to share the same fear as most science fiction movies and books gives from ourselves. We do not want to give you the same impression from your means of fiction. We hid ourselves with that knowledge of those means of entertainment." He explained, finishing the answer.

Again, questions were shouted out and hands waved but Keller pointed to another reporter, this time in the farther back of the entire audience. "Optimus Prime," The reporter had to shout. "The rumors that have been going around says that you are alien robots. But we all look at you and see a human being. How is it that you look and sound human? Are you some kind of android or cyborg?"

That brought a smile to Optimus and many of the Autobots' faces. Even some of the humans had to smile as they glanced at one another and waited for the answer.

Optimus just shook his head before he reached with one hand across his chest and touched his own shoulder. "No. We are not androids or cyborgs. This body that you are seeing now is not exactly real. It is what we call Holographic Molecular Imagers. It makes a holographic human version of ourselves so we can interact with humans without frightening them." He had to fight back looking at all of the Autobots, so not to point them out. "All of the Autobots are in human forms. But it is true that we are giant robots. Our real forms are made out of metal and energy. We call ourselves Autonomous Robotic Organisms, which are Autobots for short." He explained.

"Optimus Prime, why the disguise?" A reporter shouted before he could be acknowledged.

Before Optimus could answer, Keller touched his shoulder to keep him from answering as he leaned over the microphone. "Please, wait till I signal to you. There are too many reporters and not a whole lot of time. But, go ahead and answer that, Optimus." He said looking to the Autobot Leader.

Optimus only nodded. "Thank you, Secretary Keller." He looked back around the entire audience with a calm look on his face. "The reason for our disguise is that our real forms tend to be a little intimidating. We wish not to frighten anyone. That is why we take human forms as well as others." He announced.

Another reporter near the front was allowed to ask his question next as soon as he raised his hand and got Keller's attention. "Optimus Prime, a lot of people are wondering what you really look like. Is it true that you take the forms of vehicles and would you be willing to show us what you really look like?"

After a short pause, Optimus considered the question before he nodded and stepped back a little. "We do take the forms of means of transportation for humans. And I would be willing to show you my true self as long as everyone remains calm. I do not wish to intimidate you and the rest of the world." He told everyone.

It was right at that moment, most of the entire crowd nodded or shouted yes in excitement. There were photographers already snapping pictures, wanting to get everything. But at the most part, everyone just waited patiently.

Optimus just nodded before he glanced over to Keller, almost as if he was asking for permission. But Keller just nodded and waved a hand at him. So the Autobot Leader turned his head and looked at his real body as his engine rumbled to life and his human form flickered out of view. There had been a wave of gasps from the crowd as they watched in excitement and surprise to see that he had vanished. But eyes grew wider and jaws fell as the red and blue flamed Peterbilt Semi truck began to twist and turn as it transformed right before everyone's eyes.

Many of the other Autobots had to move back to allow him space, while even Reno had to move away from Optimus, joining Mikaela and Sam to standing between Bumblebee and Arcee. They all watched with growing smiles as the Autobot Leader transformed before carefully and slowly standing up to his full height. They were amused by how many heads had to crane back to look right up into Optimus' face.

But one thing that pleased everyone the most was that there was not one look fear on any reporters' faces as they stared up at Optimus. Almost everyone was looking up at him with fascination and awe.

Then one reporter stood up, raising a hand as she held the hand of a young girl, who looked extremely bashful when Optimus' eyes fell upon them. She had ducked her head almost shyly, as if not daring to looking up at the giant Leader of the Autobots. They were standing close to the side of the front row. "Excuse me, Optimus Prime." The woman had stated, holding up her hand and Keller nodded for her to go ahead. "I'm sorry, Optimus Prime, but my daughter," She glanced down at the girl. "She wanted to ask you a question, herself. If it's all right." She said.

Optimus just smiled gently, turning his eyes onto the girl, who ducked her head lower. She was a young teenager, looking extremely shy. "Yes, little one? What would you like to ask?" He asked her gently.

The girl's face flushed, as if embarrassed and it took a moment of coaxing from her mother to get her to lift her head and finally look up at Optimus. She had to cough lightly to clear her throat before she took a deep breath. "Ex-excuse me, um…..sir. But…..why would you want to pro…..protect us? Humans, I mean? We're just…..we're so much smaller than you. Don't you think that we're lesser be-beings or something?" She asked, in quite the timid voice. But it had made a lot of people frown as if they were asking their selves that very question.

But Optimus just smiled and shook his head as he carefully got down to one knee and bent over the girl, which made her have to tilt her head back to look up at him. "No. I, or any of the Autobots, do not think that humans are lesser beings. In fact, we think the opposite. You may be smaller than ourselves but I have seen many humans show great potential. I have seen some of the greatest courage from humans. You are a young species but you have come very far that it took many years for Cybertronians to achieve. Humans have shown great courage, compassion, and honor and I have made great friends out of many humans. And I will do everything to keep you and them safe." He told her.

The girl bit her lip, smiling a little at his words before she dropped her hand from her mothers and held it out towards Optimus. "Okay. Then….." She was definitely sounding much braver than before. "Then, would you be my friend?" She asked and that had many people looking very curious.

Optimus only smiled before lift a hand and gently placed one of his large fingers into her small palm, letting her clasp it as if shaking hands with her. "What is your name, young one?" He asked softly.

"Everyone calls me Koko." The young girl said, somewhat shy again as she smiled up at him.

"Then Koko, it would be my honor to call you a friend." Optimus said as he shook her hand with his large finger before he looked around, when reporters began snapping pictures of him with the girl. A lot of people were excited about seeing contact like that.

"Optimus Prime, if you will," The girl's mother said, getting his attention. "May I ask you exactly how big are you and your people? Are your….Autobots bigger or smaller than yourself?" he asked.

Optimus took back his hand when the girl, Koko, released his hand and carefully stood back up, looking around at everyone. "We are very much like your own people. We vary in different sizes, colors and shapes. Some are bigger than myself and some are quite smaller. We are no different than your own when it comes to varieties of people." He explained, softly.

Another hand went up and he was allowed to ask, "Optimus Prime, how many more are there of your Autobots here with you?"

For a moment, Optimus didn't answer as he considered that question. He finally tilted his head as if looking over his shoulder before he turned and looked at every Autobot in their vehicle form. "Autobots," he began carefully. "The world would like to meet all of you. If you are comfortable with revealing yourselves, transform. But if not, you may pass." He told them.

It took another moment for most of the Autobots to think about it but then starting with Elita One, all of their holographic human forms flickered out of view and they began to transform. Not one chose not to reveal their selves. They all figured that if their leader was doing this, they could too. And seeing all of the cars, trucks and even the Blackbird jet transforming, more than half of the Conference let their jaws drop wide as the Autobots began to stand right behind their leader. But more or less, they were all surprised to see the sizes of them all. Or the fact that about six of them were female.

Another hand went up after the shock was over and the reporter asked, "Are those…..are those girl robots?" He motioned to Elita One and the other femmes.

Quite a few Autobots smiled while Optimus chuckled and nodded. "Yes. Our kind do have opposite genders. These femmes, females, are the last of our kind. The war with the Decepticons on our planet have not been kind to our femmes. Almost all female Cybertronians have been eliminated on Cybertron. But there are still a fair few femmes left. These are the Autobot Valkyries, led by Elita One, whom is a very proud and strong leader. She is equal in my rank." He explained.

Several reporters smiled as they looked at the pink and black femme beside Optimus. Quite a few of them seemed to realize how highly he was speaking of her, more or less, the gentle look he was giving her.

"Does that mean she's your….um, girlfriend, wife?" Someone blurted out.

There had been quite a few laughs from humans and Autobots a like as Optimus just smiled before he looked at Elita One as she stepped closer to him, linking her hand with his own. "Yes. I suppose I should just admit that. Elita One is my sparkmate, which would be known as a wife in human terms. We have been mates together for a long time and we will remain for the rest of our lives." He answered, holding her hand.

More than one woman in the entire audience awed while many men whistled and cheered to hear that. Of course, one reporter held up her hand, looking quite delighted. "Does that mean…..you have children?" She asked, brightly.

Some Autobots let their smiles fade but Optimus shared a glance with Elita One, who gave him a sad smile. "Unfortunately, no." He looked back at all of the smiles that were starting to fade on the way he said that. "The war has not been kind to Sparklings either, which is what we call children. The Sparklings of our Planet were the first to die during the war. There has not been a Sparkling among our kind for nearly three thousand years, other than," He paused looking back at Mirage and Blaster. He held out a hand towards the young Communications Officer, who hesitated before he glanced at his mentor. Mirage shared his glance before he nodded to him. Blaster slowly crawled from his shoulder into Optimus' hand and allowed for him to be introduced. "This is Blaster, our very last Sparkling of our race. He is currently nine hundred years old, but in your human years, he would be known to be nine years old. We do have younglings, teenage Cybertronians." Optimus continued glancing at Bumblebee, Spitfire, Hot Rod, Flare-Up and several others before looking back at all of the stunned but sympathetic faces of the reporters. "Many of our Sparklings are gone. Blaster is the last Sparkling, which he will be a youngling very soon."

"But you can be able to have more, can't you?" A reporter suddenly blurted out but he wasn't reprimanded.

"Unfortunately," Optimus said with a sigh as he carefully turned and let Blaster climb back onto Mirage's shoulder. "We have not been able to produce our own Sparklings. The only source of renewing life among of our kind has been destroyed. There was an artifact precious to Cybertonians that was destroyed. As far as we knew, it was the only way of creating new life for our kind. But now that it is gone, we are not sure if we can continue to grow in numbers. Without the new source of life energy, it will be more than likely, our kind will die off with the rest of us."

Quite a few people looked very sympathetic to hear that. Most of the women in the entire audience looked almost watery eyed at their neighbors. Almost all looked sad to hear that kind of predicament. They couldn't imagine what it would be like to be unable to have any children, more or less, continue their future without kids.

Unfortunately, a reporter had to burst the somewhat happy bubble as he rose his hand with a serious look on his face. And when Keller pointed at him and Optimus looked down at him, he asked, "Optimus Prime, it has been reported that one of your Autobots," He pointed directly at Arcee, who looked quite surprised while Hot Rod stepped closer to her almost defensively. "That one was seen on Fox 13 News of Utah and nearly over a dozen eye witnesses attacking a Black Hawk military helicopter. And some of the other ones threatened to open fire on them. So if you are as peaceful as you say you are, then why did they do that? Why attack a helicopter that was attempting to rescue a young teenage girl?"

"That son of a….!" Mikaela hissed as she eyed the reporter with a disgruntled look. But she paused when Sam threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him, shushing her gently. He, like many of the other Autobots and humans were not smiling at that question.

But before Optimus could actually answer, it was Keller who tapped his leg to get his attention and shake his head before he looked at the reporter with a stony look on his face. "Unfortunately, we cannot go into details right now. But the Autobots that you are referring to was not doing the attacking. In fact, the Autobot femme that you say that was attacking the helicopter was actually rescuing the young lady seen on the news." He paused, looking very seriously at the reporter. "I cannot go into all of the details as I had just said, but there is a terrorist group who does know about the Cybertronians. And unlike the Governments, they are not willing to give these amazing people a chance to prove their selves to Earth. They targeted a group of young adults who befriended the Autobots and they attempted to harm these young people. It was more than likely that they were trying to make the world see that the Autobots are dangerous or provoke them. But I can guarantee it to everyone that the Autobots are not a danger to our Planet and its people. They have shown time and time again that they are willing to die for our people. On a few accounts, one or two of the Autobots have nearly died protecting a human being. It was just the same for the Autobot femme that you are trying to point out, sir. She was willing to give her life up to save that young woman. And she nearly did die."

"Secretary Keller!" Another reporter called out, waving a hand. Keller only paused for a moment before he nodded to him. "If she, the Autobot femme, nearly died, how is it that she looks fine? She's standing there in one piece and it was shown on the news that she was nearly torn in pieces? Is it true to the rumor that a human girl repaired her?"

Quite a few people and Autobots had to fight from glancing towards Dawn who stood right by Sam and Mikaela, her head lowered as a blush started to form on her cheeks.

But Keller shook his head as he lift his head higher. "I do not know where that rumor came from. But no, it was not one of the young ladies. No matter what the eye witnesses saw, it wasn't the young woman. What they say was merely a skill that the Autobots seem to have. I have witnessed myself that the Autobots have extraordinary medical knowledge to repair their selves and help even humans. It was simply that." He announced. It wasn't exactly the truth but it wasn't a lie either. Keller was only trying to protect Dawn from being pinpointed for being responsible for saving Arcee's life.

"Secretary Keller, Optimus Prime," Another reporter asked, raising her hand. "The terrorist group that you're talking about, exactly who are they? What is their intentions and goals? Can you at least tell us a little of that?"

Keller shook his head as he made a quick glance up at Optimus before looking back at her. "Right at this moment, we are unclear of what the terrorists' intentions are. We do not have a lot of information on them as of the moment, nor do we exactly know who they are. We only know that they are not above of hurting human children, young adults or humans in general of trying to get to the Cybertronians. And I am saying Cybertronians. We do have some reports from the Autobots that they have attempted to harm a Decepticon as well. We are only too glad that the Decepticons have not decided any rash attacks just yet. We can't say if they won't but these people, these terrorists are willing to harm human life to try and harm the Autobots." He shook his head again, his face growing sterner. "Ladies and Gentlemen, there will be a lot of you who will be afraid of the Cybertronians, if you aren't already. But I can reassure you, the Autobots will not let anything happen to any human kind."

Optimus Prime just nodded as he looked around, agreeing with Keller. His dropped down onto another reporter that Keller pointed to, who looked a little uneasy but kept a brave face. "Optimus Prime, you said that you are here to protect mankind from the Decepticons. What exactly have we, Earthlings or humans done to them to make us hate us so much? Why are they trying to destroy us?" He asked.

"The Decepticons believe in only destruction of life." Optimus said without even hesitating. They believe that Cybertronians are the superior beings because of our size and long life. They believe that because we are nearly the largest beings in the Universe, we are the superior beings. And they believe that we should attack all Planets with life and rule all." He shook his head, frowning. "I and the Autobots do not believe that. We believe that all sentient beings have the right to choose for their selves. And I have seen what humans can do. Yes, there is some things that humans do that we do not agree with. But we have much goodness in your people. There are a lot of good people on this planet. I have seen a great capacity of courage, compassion, greatness and understanding from humans. With the three years that I have been on this Planet, I will be never more honored than I am now to know many humans. I, and the Autobots will do what it takes to see that your future is a great one. We will help you if you allow us. We can learn a great deal from each other. Earth can learn how to overcome war and hatred by listening to our stories. And maybe," He paused, his eyes lighting up gently. "Maybe, we can learn a great deal from humans that we have not been able to learn for our selves. I am nearly as young as your Planet is, which is very young considered of how long our kind can live. And I am still learning a great deal from humans. We, the Autobots are willing to die to protect your planet." He stated.

That earned a respectable round of applause from everyone at the Conference. Quite a lot of people were glad to hear such words from Optimus Prime. More than half of the crowd stood up and clapped hard, cheering for the Autobots.

"All right." Keller spoke up, holding up his hands. "We have time for only a few more questions and then we will have to conclude this Conference." He pointed at a reporter who had his hand up.

The reporter paused as he looked over all of the Autobots before he lift a hand and pointed at one of them. It only took a moment before everyone realized that he was actually pointing at Jetfire. "Optimus Prime, I'm noticing that almost all of you, the Autobots, have blue eyes. So, why does that Autobot have red ones instead of blue?" He asked.

The look on Jetfire's face was almost unsettling and even everyone had to looked wide eyed at the Decepticon. He did not look happy at all for that question.

But Optimus turned slightly and gently waved a hand at him as if to calm his growing irritation from the question that was asked. He got a look for it but the Legendary Seeker nodded and kept his mouth shut from snapping at the reporter. He knew it would do no good at all. Then the Autobot Leader looked back at the reporter, pausing as he considered the question. He looked very hesitant about answering that question. "It is true that Autobots have blue or icy colored optics, eyes. Jetfire, here, has been with the Autobots for a very long time. He has fought beside me during the war for nearly three thousand years, if I remember right. It was a long time ago when he joined us. He is a very good friend of mine and he is the oldest Cybertronian that is still alive. And he would never harm a human as long as they don't pose a threat to him or to the ones he has chosen to protect." He sighed softly as if he trying to think of a way of explaining it lightly. But he knew it wasn't going to be exactly light as he would hope. "Jetfire possesses red optics because he is not an Autobot. He fights for the Autobot side, but he will always claim to be a Decepticon."

That got quite a few murmurs as people immediately began looking at one another and looking very uneasy. Almost all were looking at Jetfire with fear or unease.

"Optimus Prime sir!" A reporter blurted out. "I thought you said the Decepticons hated humans. I thought they are your enemies."

Optimus just nodded. "Yes I did say that. But Jetfire has chosen to side with the Autobots. It does not mean he's not a threat but I can guarantee it to you, he will never harm humans. He claims to be a Decepticon but he sides with us. He does not believe in the war between Autobots and Decepticons no longer." He explained.

Jetfire cleared his throat loudly before he stepped forward. "Optimus, allow me." He spoke before looking around with his burning gaze. "I am a Decepticon, humans. Make no mistake of that. That will never change. But I will not go up against this lot of Autobots. I won't go up against someone like Optimus Prime. He's a mighty warrior and I saw that a long time ago when I first met him. The meaning behind this bloody war between the Autobots and the Decepticons have gone on too long and for the stupidest reasons." He shook his head, dipping his head down a little lower. "Decepticons came before the Autobots did, a long, long time ago. Before the war, the Decepticons were suppose to be the Guardians of our Planet. They were suppose to protect the Planet and Cybertronians. They were suppose to protect life. But things happen'd and a couple of Decepticons got pissed off. They let greed and lust for battles cloud their bloody minds. They began to feel hate. Who wants to die fighting in hatred? Who wants to destroy life? These Autobots were formed to fight against the Decepticons and stop them from destroying everything. They fight because if they don't, the Decepticons will destroy all life in the Universe for only their selves. A long time ago, I believed in the Decepticon way, but I don't any more. I don't claim to be an Autobot but I sure as the Pits don't claim the beliefs of those fragging Decepticons. They're letting their hate and lust for power run 'em." He snorted loudly, which sounded more like an engine rubbing too roughly against metal. "I'm a grumpy 'Con and I don't get along with most. But I am not going to destroy young life, such as your Planet's. 'Sides, I have my own human friends that I care about. I have a human who got into my Spark, my heart. And I am not going to turn on any human just 'cause I'm a Decepticon. That's not my way any more."

No one looked like they truly believed his words but no one contradicted Jetfire. They just looked around at one another, murmuring a little but they looked to Optimus, as if asking him if what Jetfire said was true. The only thing that the Autobot Leader did was reach out and place his hand on the Seeker's shoulder, giving him a light smile, which Jetfire nodded back to as he stepped back into his original place in the far back. That only made half of the entire audience looked relieved. They seemed to trust Optimus Prime more than the so called Decepticon.

However, a few more hands raised to ask more questions but Keller tapped Optimus' leg again to get his attention as he moved closer to the microphone. "I'm sorry to interrupt but we need to conclude this conference. But I will share another word of advice to each and every single person watching or listening to this." He took a deep breath before folding his hands together, looking very official. "Now I know that this is a lot to take in. To find out that there are alien robots among us. That there are alien life out there when we've spent decades looking for it. But I make this statement from the bottom of my heart and with everything I believe in. The Cybertronians are very real. The Autobots have claimed to be Earth's protectors and I know they are here to do what they say they will. I have seen them defend humans over and over and over from their own kind. The Decepticons are here to harm humans but with the Autobots here, I highly doubt that they will succeed. The Autobots are willing to destroy their own kind just to protect us and our free wills. I must ask every person on the Planet to think very hard about what was said today. Think about what you have seen. And please, keep an open mind about the Cybertronians. Consider them and welcome them as your World Leaders have. The entire United States military, the Russian Military, the entire world's military units have spent some time with the Autobots and they trust them. Everyone who has family and friends and even loved ones in the military knows our new allies. If you trust them, then you know that you can trust the Autobots." He finally finished. "Thank you for listening and consider Optimus and my words."

With that said, Keller looked up at Optimus Prime and nodded with a smile before he sharply saluted him. And with him, the every single American and the Russian Soldier snapped to attention, saluting Optimus and the Autobots.

Optimus smiled and gave his nod of gratitude before he looked around at the Autobots, taking on the firm Leader that he was. "Autobots, transform and roll out!" He ordered gently but firmly.

At once, each and every Autobot nodded sharply before they stepped away from one another and transformed. Once in their vehicle forms, they opened their doors and allowed their human counterparts to climb in, even with all of the reporters snapping as many pictures as they could as they did so. Optimus was the last to transform and follow his soldiers, only slowing a fraction as he rolled up near Reno Banes, who reached out and caught the side handle before climbing in to sit in Optimus' driver side seat.

Smiling, Reno shrugged and folded his arms behind his head as he looked down at the Autobot insignia while the Peterbilt drove after his Autobots. "Well," He began with a chuckle. "That went better than I thought it would. I half expected people to jump up, screaming and run away."

Chuckling, Optimus Prime just kept driving as the Autobots made it to the main road. "I agree, Reno. But we can only speculate with the humans that were there at the Conference. We don't know how the rest of the world is taking our revelation. But we can only hope." He said over the radio system.

Of course, he and everyone else could only hope that the People of Earth would take it like all of the reporters had. They could only hope that people would be calm and understanding. But the most that Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots really hoped was that the Decepticons didn't ruin it for them by making it Open Season on humans now that the world knew about them.

But even that was pushing the hope too far.


	8. Family Matters

Since the day that the World finally had met the Autobots, Optimus Prime had Hound and Wheeljack constantly monitoring Teletraan; when it wasn't glitching out, collecting all of the news reports that was being done on them. It was a little unfortunate that there was a lot of talk about the Cybertronians; Autobots and Decepticons. The two highly intelligent Autobots and the human IT's, Maggie, Glenn and Anya were on the computers, gathering everything. They were collecting blogs, instant messages, and everything that people were saying about the Earth's newest members.

But one thing was for sure, everything that they learned was that the world was very excited about the Autobots. The excitement was both, good and bad. Quite a few people were rightfully nervous about having alien robots on Earth, interacting with humans. They believed that there was some hidden intention that wasn't being said by Optimus Prime. They didn't believe that they were there for protection and peace.

However, more than half of the world did believe Optimus Prime's words. They were so excited about the Cybertronians that all they talked about was the Cybertronians. They thought it was so cool having new alien neighbors. There was a lot of talk about how cool it was that the Autobots could transform into such hot cars and trucks and even Jetfire's Blackbird form. A lot of them were car fanatics. They were constantly talking about how nice the form they took was. Most of the children, teenagers and young adults were the most excited. They were oohing and awing about the alien robots. They really seemed to love having the Cybertronians on Earth, living on their Planet.

Even some Autobot merchandise seemed to have suddenly popped up out of nowhere and that had the Autobots staring with surprise for hours. Especially when someone seemed to have seen the Autobot insignia that they carried and put them on T-shirts.

Still, the whole Planet was talking only about the Cybertronians. Talk shows, radio stations, paparazzi and a whole lot of other people were constantly calling the White House or the Pentagon with the hope of being able to interview and meet with the Autobots. It was an entire media blowout for everyone to take. It was enough to drive everyone insane. Especially the United Nations and Keller with all of the calls from everyone that wanted to see more of the Autobots. Everyone was begging and pleading to seem them and hear more and more about their stories.

And because of the media flood constantly looking for the Autobots, taking pictures of hot cars with the hopes that they were them, all of the Autobots were ordered to stay in the Autobot-NEST base to avoid getting seen. Even Bumblebee, Arcee, Hot Rod and Sideswipe had to stay on the base. It was due to the fact that when they started to return their young humans back to the Weber State University, they got spotted. People tried to swarm them to talk to them or tried talking to Sam, Mikaela, Trent, Dawn and even Leo when they saw him with them. They tried to crowd around them, and it made all of them feel a little too claustrophobic. Dawn, especially since she was. So all four decided to pull out of the University for a little while and take online courses to avoid getting swarmed like that again. But nonetheless, they had been named and people knew that they were the teens that were friends with the Autobots. It was nearly too insane.

But the worst part of it was that since the day the Autobots were revealed, the families who didn't know about their kids' involvement with the Autobots sure knew about it now. And they were very upset.

The day that the Lincolns, the DeMarcos, the Banes and the Rory's decided to pay a visit to the Autobot-NEST base was the day that the Autobots, the teens and young adults, and some of the Soldiers really wished that the Decepticons acted up so they could find an excuse to go fight them instead of fighting the relatives. They demanded to see the Autobots and speak with them. No one really had a choice on the matter as it was. They had to comply with the families' wishes. All of the families were taken to the Base in the Grand Canyon to see the Autobots and find out what was going on with their kids.

And in result of that action, all of the families were yelling a very harassed looking Simmons.

"Why were we not informed that our kids were involved with alien robots?" Roger DeMarco shouted at Simmons, who held up his hands as if trying to protect himself from getting beaten up.

"How long has Elena been seeing this robot?" Deanna Lincoln nearly screamed along with her brother.

"Why didn't anyone tell me that Mikaela's motorcycle was a giant alien robot? Renonous Banes! Did you seriously know about this? Why didn't you tell me?" Both Trisha and Dallas Banes yelled.

Too many questions were being shouted at Simmons, who was trying his best to back away from all of the parents. He was extremely red in the face, yet he looked terrified beyond all reason. This was something he would have never imagined happening to him. He was not the only one being yelled at though. Even Banachek was being backed up against the wall and so was Robert Epps, who was being forced to face Jeffery and Jan Rory. Both of them were backing him right up against the wall, while he was making a face and holding up his own hands in his own defense.

"Robert! Did you know about this? Did you know that Rex was involved with a dangerous alien robot? Why didn't you tell us?" Jeffery Rory demanded.

In truth, all of the humans looked extremely embarrassed or looked like they wanted to run away. They would rather face Decepticons or the Department rather than face all of the relatives that were yelling at them. Simmons looked like his head was going to explode and he was trying his best to shout over all of the demands, try and get a word in. But none of the parents were allowing him to say a word other than grunts and stammered words. The Autobots were standing off as far as they could away from the angry mob of parents while all of the kids were standing with them, cringing as they watched the entire disturbing scene. Even Anya's mother and sister were yelling at Vladimir in Russian as he had his back right up against Jetfire's foot, who was also backed up into a wall as he stared wide eyed down at them. Vladimir was doing his best to calm his wife and daughter down but it wasn't very easy. Anya was standing nearby trying to get them to stop yelling but it wasn't working.

"ALL RIGHT!" Simmons finally shouted throwing his arms above his head and waving them like he was mad. "Everyone, just shut up! Shut up for one minute!"

It just made things worst.

Voices raised and Roger DeMarco looked like he was going to start swinging at the NEST Agent for telling him to shut up. His voice began to echo right off the walls while Trent groaned and turned to lean against Hot Rod's leg, burying his face in his arms. He couldn't believe this. And it wasn't really helping with his Australian Shepherd puppy, Primus barking and yipping at all of the excitement.

Finally, fed up with all of the shouting and yelling, Lennox sighed heavily as he handed his nearly two year old daughter to Sarah Lennox and then climbed up on top of Ironhide's foot. He stuck his fingers into his mouth and gave a very shrill whistle to get everyone's attention. It was fortunate that it worked. All shouting, screaming and yelling died down as the families winced at the volume of his whistle and looked at him. "All right, everyone! Please just calm down!" He called out, holding up his hands and looking everyone over. "We know all of you are upset about finding out this way but in truth, your kids and Simmons and Banachek didn't tell you for your own safety!"

"Our own safety? Our own safety?" Roger yelled, his face turning even redder than before, if it was possible. "How is our own safety more important than our kids' safety? We have a right to know what our kids have been doing! And what they've been doing is being around a bunch of alien robots that could be dangerous!"

Trent groaned loudly as he shoved himself off of Hot Rod's leg and spun around to glare at his father. "Dad! Will you just stop? The Autobots are not dangerous!" he yelled.

Roger shot Trent a look as if telling him to stay out of this. But he decided that it was his turn to get yelled at. "Trent, do not tell me to stop! I won't stop! You are my son and I have the right to know about things like this! I feel betrayed that you didn't even tell me that your damn car was an alien robot! You should have told me and your mother about this!" He snapped.

"And us, Mikaela!" Trisha said angrily folding her arms across her chest as she glanced at Dallas, who was frowning right at his younger brother. "Reno, did you know about this?" He asked along with her.

Reno heaved a very impatient sigh before he nodded and held up one hand towards Dallas. "Dallas, just stop. For one. Single. Minute. Let all of us explain instead of trying to bite off our heads." He dropped his hand when Dallas didn't reply but glower at him. He motioned to all of the Soldiers and Agents. "All of us were in the loop, all right. The Boyds," he motioned to Dawn's mother and stepfather who were standing with Dawn and Sideswipe with their daughter, Delia. "Knew that their daughter was involved with the Autobots. And I knew that Mikaela was. I found out in the most unsettling way too. But none of us told any one of you because we knew that you would have reacted like this. We knew that you would have started yelling." He told all of them.

"Deanna, Tim," Elena's somewhat nanny, Nikki Valentine spoke up, looking just as embarrassed about the situation as the young teens were. She looked somewhat grave about it but she looked firm. "I found out about Spitfire just right before you woke up from your coma, Tim."

Timothy Lincoln, Elena's father, was sitting in a wheelchair, due to the fact that there were some repercautions about waking up out of a four year coma. He was not exactly paralyzed but he just couldn't wake because there had been some muscle damage from the coma. Other than that, he was doing just fine. He frowned at Nikki, while Deanna almost glared. "You knew?"

"Mom! Please, just don't." Elena begged as she wrapped one arm around Spitfire's leg, almost burying her face into her warm metal. "Just stop yelling. I told Nikki first because she asked. If you would have asked, I would have told you about Spitfire." She told her.

Deanna looked gravely at her daughter but she didn't say anything as Tim held up a hand, sighing heavily. "Okay. Enough, Dee." He looked back at Elena and then folded his arms across his chest. "I would have understood if you just told me, Elena. And I can see why Nikki didn't tell your mother and me." He said, looking at Nikki. "But that doesn't give the Government the right to not tell us that you and all of the kids have been messing around with aliens."

"Uncle Tim," Trent interrupted before he could go on. He looked just as impatient as his father was looking right now. "If we would have told you, would any one of you believe us?"

No one had an answer for that one.

"Okay, Simmons." Reno spoke up, once it seemed to have calmed down. "You can go on. I don't think they'll yell any more."

Simmons was clutching his head with one hand but he quickly dropped his hand and nearly glared at him. "No, I have a headache, Reno! You explain! Because I'm done!" He looked sharply up at Ratchet and moved towards him. "Doc! I need something for this headache! Give me something, will ya?" He asked sharply.

Ratchet gave him a very undignified look before he raised an arm and pressed a button. His arm compartment popped open and he bent down so that Simmons could get into the compartment and pull out a bottle of Advil. He watched with dissatisfaction as the Agent popped the top and got out two pills before putting the lid back on and nearly throwing it back into his compartment. "Simmons, I know the past two weeks have been rather stressful, but you have been taking too many pills. If you do not be careful, you are going to become addicted to them." The Autobot Medical Officer warned.

Simmons gave him an impatient look before he tossed back his head and threw the pills into his mouth. He swallowed without water, much to Ratchet's disapproval. "Save it, Ratchet. I don't want to hear it today. Forgive me for having a headache because a bunch of people," He shot the families a look, which they returned. "Won't stop yelling at me!"

Ratchet frowned deeply before he snapped shut his arm compartment with a loud snap. He was not impressed with Simmons' attitude at all. "Simmons, I want you in my medical bay at 1300 hours." He demanded before jabbing a finger towards Simmons when his jaw fell open and he looked like he was going to start protesting. "No excuses! Your stress levels are too high right now and we do not want you giving yourself a heart attack or a stroke! Be in my medical bay at 1300 hours or I will come looking for you!"

"Oh, damn it." Simmons groaned, dropping his head into his hands. It looked like his headache was getting worst.

Several of the American Soldiers, the teens and the Autobots snickered as they watched Simmons' misery. It was just too funny to see him getting lectured by Ratchet. And it made them grateful that he wasn't picking on them right now but the way too serious NEST Agent.

But the families looked astonished or shocked.

"You have a robot as a doctor?" Tim asked, with a little amusement. At least he was amused while the others weren't.

Elena smiled brightly as she pulled away from Spitfire and folded her arms. "Yeah! Ratchet is the best doctor there is! He's the one who operated on you to pull you out of your coma! If it wasn't for him, you could have died! He saved your life!" She said brightly.

"And he saved my daughter's life twice." Eliza Boyd said smiling as she coddled with Delia.

"And he helped Hound and Wheeljack make my new arm, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jan!" Rex spoke up, holding up his mechanical arm for them to see. "If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have two hands to work with! And Ultra Magnus is my best friend! He saved my life more than I can count! He taught me how to live again! It's because of him that I can smile again!"

All of the families just looked astonished while the teens and the young adults glanced at one another before deciding to jump in.

"Arcee saved my life, mom and dad! And she helped protect Uncle Reno!" Mikaela piped up.

"Jetfire saved me from the Sweeps, mama." Anya said, looking at her astonished mother.

"All of the Autobots have done something for us." Sam spoke up, looking at all of the parents, even though Roger DeMarco was giving him a look as if he was some trouble making punk. He chose to ignore the look, though Trent was giving his father the exact same look he was giving him. "And they will do it over and over and over again. They're here to help us. They would rather die than to see any one of us get hurt. Jazz," Sam pointed towards the small Silver Autobot, who grinned and waved cheekily at everyone. "He has died trying to protecting some of the American Soldiers in Mission City. The only reason he's alive now is because of Spitfire. She used her very own energy and something called the All Spark shard to bring him back online." He pointed to Optimus Prime next, who just remained calm, unlike the other Autobots. "Optimus Prime, the Leader of the Autobots, tried to sacrifice himself in Mission City to protect humans from the Decepticons. I wouldn't let him. They're not as dangerous as you think they are to us." He explained.

"SAMMY!"

Sam and several others jumped when they heard Judy's voice bellow out. He turned, along with everyone to see that she was running into the large hanger full of people with Ron right behind her. They rushed right over to Sam and threw their arms around him, much to his great embarrassment. "Sam! We saw you on the news! We saw what happened in Utah and everything! Are you okay?" Judy asked holding his cheeks, more like squishing them together before she swung around and looked wide eyed at Mikaela, hurrying to her next. "Mikaela! Are you okay, honey? We saw what happened to you too! Did you get hurt? Dawn!" She swung around to look at her next and rushed over to give her a hug, which she blushed at. "Dawn, we caught a glimpse of what happened to you! Are you hurt? Trent, are you okay?" She asked, wildly swinging over to Trent, who was barely holding in his laughter.

"Mom, we're fine!" Sam said in exasperation.

"We're all okay, Judy. Thank you." Mikaela said, having to laugh a little, herself.

Judy nodded before she whirled around and rushed over to Bumblebee, much to all of the other parents' surprise. "Bumblebee! " She motioned to him to bend down and he did with a sheepish look. She took his large face into her hands. "Bumblebee, how are you doing? Does your voice box still hurt?" She blinked before scrambling for her purse. "Oh, I think I have a cough drop in my purse! Would that help?" She asked.

"Mom! Bumblebee can have a cough drop! They won't work on him." Sam said again with exasperation.

Judy made a face at him before she realized he was right. "Oh, I was only trying to help him." She then hurried over to Arcee next and took her hand, even though she was trying so hard not to laugh at the looks on everyone's faces. "Arcee, dear, are you doing okay? We saw what you did for Mikaela. And we saw that you were torn up badly. That was so brave of you! You're not hurting are you?" She asked, brightly.

Arcee just smiled and shook her head. "No, Mrs. Witwicky. I'm fine. But thank you for your concern." She told her.

Judy made a face at her before she waved a hand at her as if brushing away her words. "Arcee, what did I tell you? You call me Judy now. All right, sweetheart?" She asked, almost scolding her.

Again, Arcee had to hold back a laugh as she nodded. "I'm sorry, Judy. I forgot." She told her.

"Hold on a minute!" Trisha Banes asked in alarm, waving a hand before pointing at Judy and Ron. She looked completely stunned of Judy's reaction and of how Ron was patting Bumblebee on the arm as if thanking him for protecting Sam. "Judy! Ron! You knew about the aliens?"

Judy and Ron looked at her with raised eyebrows before nodding as if it was obvious. "Well, yeah, Trish. We've known about the Autobots since the beginning." She remarked before turning a look onto Mikaela. "See, Mikaela. I told you that you should have told your mother about Arcee." She told her before spinning around to face the Banes again. "All of the Autobots are so sweet and kind to my Sammy. And to Mikaela. And to everyone! I've never met anyone more caring than Elita One." She waved a hand to the tallest femme who just smiled. "She treats the kids like they're her own! Especially Elena and Rex! They're the youngest and all, of course! But all of the Autobots are great! Ron and I already think of Bumblebee as our own child! He's like a son to us just like Sam! All of the Autobots loves the kids to death! You should see Ironhide playing with Annabelle and Delia! It's so cute when he plays peek-a-boo with them!" She ranted.

Ironhide groaned loudly before dropping his head into his hands while everyone just laughed. If it were possible, they knew he would have been blushing bright red. Lennox just snorted before giving his large gruff family Guardian a pat on the leg, trying to be comforting. But the laugh coming out of him gave it away. "The point is, ladies and gentlemen, your kids, my daughter are safe with the Autobots. They love these kids so much. They will do anything to protect them. You decide to take your kids away from them, you might as well take gun right to their heads or their Sparks." He told them.

"What?" Judy and Ron both gasped, looking wildly around. "What do you mean? Who's trying to take the kids away from the Autobots?" She asked wildly.

"We are trying to decide if our kids are safe with these machines, Judy." Roger DeMarco remarked dryly.

"Safe? Are you kidding?" Ron asked, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow. "Of course they're safe with the Autobots. They'd die before letting anything happen to them. And they're not machines, Roger. They're people, just like us. Yeah, they're made out of metal and hardware, and they're from a different Planet. But these guys are just as alive as we are."

"And you should see Dawn and Sideswipe together! They love each other so much! It's a wonder how they hadn't found each other sooner." Judy perked up before looking brightly at Eliza. "Eliza! Has he asked her to marry him yet? When's the wedding?"

Both Dawn and Sideswipe groaned, while looking at each other. A roar of laughter erupted all around them while the families looked shocked.

Eliza and Nik Boyd, however, were enjoying their daughter's torment and embarrassment. This was not the first time they had teased Dawn and Sides about their relationship. "Not yet, Judy. He hasn't popped the question yet. But I think it's going to be a little while. I think he's waiting for her to turn twenty-one first." She told the bright woman.

Judy just pouted with disappointment, while everyone watched as Dawn turned towards Sides and buried her face against his warm metal. Sides was starting to glare at some of the other Autobots; namely Sunstreaker, Ironhide, Jazz, Hot Rod and Flare-Up as they laughed the hardest out of the Autobots.

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Roger exclaimed before looking at Dawn and Sideswipe with almost disgust. "Your daughter is dating a robot?"

Many people and Autobots groaned and rolled their eyes. They knew what was coming next. Sunstreaker, however, threw his hands up in the air as if frustrated. "Oh, here we go again." He grumbled.

Eliza frowned directly at Roger as she looked very impatient. She knew what was coming, too. She shifted her weight and tilted her head to the side as she folded her arms. "Yes, Roger DeMarco. My daughter is dating a robot. And I so do not want to hear it from you. Dawn is in love with Sideswipe and he loves her just as much. My husband and I approve of their relationship. And that is all that matters. Your opinion and everyone else's does not matter." She had to throw up a finger to shut Roger up when he looked highly disgusted and started to open his mouth to say something. "And don't you dare say anything! Sideswipe is already considered apart of my family! I already think of him as a son-in-law! Him and Sunstreaker! And Flare-Up is like my daughter because she is their sister! Sideswipe was there for my daughter when she needed someone to pull her out of the darkness! It was because of people like you that put her there!" She said sharply.

Roger looked offended. "And what is that suppose to mean?" He demanded.

Eliza narrowed her eyes at him before she marched closer to him and jabbed a finger right into his face. "Bullies, Roger DeMarco! I'm talking about bullies! In high school, you used to beat up kids who were not considered in the 'cool' book! You used to beat up Ronald Witwicky because you thought he was lame and stupid! Anyone who was not into sports or were not rich, you considered them losers!" She shook her head, looking very angry as she dropped her hand to her side. "You used to push people around! And my daughter was a victim of things like that! People were mean to her, pushed her around, and she was forced to work for a living because of my Ex-husband, Chris! It wasn't until Sideswipe met her and taught her how to smile again did she manage to stand up for herself! I owe him my very life for saving my daughter's! And as much as he loves her, I know I will never have to worry about her again! Because I know she is safe with him! And I will not let you, or anyone else, criticize them for being different from one another! That is racist and it makes me sick! Yes, she is a human girl who fell in love with an alien robot but he is a sweetheart and he treats her right! That is all that matters to me! And if you criticize them one more time, I will happily tell you to kiss my aft!" She said darkly before her eyes widened and she clapped a hand over her mouth as she turned to look at Delia. "Delia, honey, Mommy didn't say a bad swearword! But if you ever repeat that word, you'll be in big trouble, okay?"

Of course, Delia wasn't even listening. She was too busy playing with Annabelle.

Sideswipe, however, grinned down at Eliza and waved. "I love you too, mom!" He said lightly and earning laughs from everyone else.

"Thank you, dear!" Eliza said right back as she walked back to Nik, who hugged her.

Still it left quite a few people speechless, namely the family. No one really paid too much attention to the extremely red in the face Dawn as she buried her face into her hands and shook her head. No one could find anything to say about it.

That is until Derrick Rory grinned and nodded brightly. "Okay! I'm down with Rex hanging out with a giant alien robot!" He remarked, surprising his family.

"Derrick!" Jeffery and Jan Rory gasped, looking horrified. Rex, however, grinned at his cousin and mouthed, 'Thank you' to him.

Making a face, Derrick looked at his parents and sister before shaking his head and folding his arms across his brown police jacket. "Oh, puh-lease, mom and dad! Give it a rest! This is the most alive I've ever seen Rex since Uncle Quinn and Aunt Marian's funeral! Look at him! He's practically glowing with being around these guys! His big, iron clad friend is what makes him happy! Who the hell are we to take that away from him?" He shrugged and shook his head at the same "Besides, Rex tried to tell us about the alien robots awhile ago, remember? He told us he had found an alien robot but we all thought he was looking for attention. We slapped our selves in the face, not Rex, or the robots or Robert!" He looked around at all of the grateful looks he was getting from the Autobots and even Robert Epps. "Besides, if these guys wanted to kill all of us, they could have done it a long time ago. So I'm going out on a limb and I'm gonna say I trust these guys."

Autobots and humans smiled gratefully while Rex grinned at Derrick. He was just so happy that his cousin was accepting the Autobots.

"Hey! Me too!" Terra Rory piped up before she jogged over to where Rex was standing with Ultra Magnus. "And to prove it, hey, big guy! How about a leg up? Show my mom and dad that you won't hurt me!"

Ultra Magnus made a face before he looked down at Rex. The young teen grinned up at him and nodded as if encouraging him. He rolled his blue eyes before bending down and offering his hand to Terra, who hesitated before climbing up into his palm. He only glanced at Jeff and Jan Rory who were clutching each other and looking as if they were holding their breath as they watched with horror. Making a face again, the large Commander slowly stood up but pausing when Terra squealed. He looked quickly at her to see if she was all right but she had a big smile on her face as she clutched one of his thick fingers. He realized that she was just excited. He stood fully up, holding her carefully before he carefully set her down again.

"We do not intend to harm your children, my friends." Optimus Prime spoke up, smiling as he watched Ultra Magnus put Terra back down. "I give you my word that no harm will come to any one of them."

"Yea! That was so much fun!" Terra said happily before she threw her arms around Rex and gave him a big squeezing hug. "Your friend rocks, Rex!"

Rex just grinned while he glanced up at the embarrassed look on Ultra Magnus' face. "Yeah, I know he does! He's the best, no offense, guys!" He said, looking around at the other Autobots. Almost all of the Autobots just shrugged or waved a hand as if brushing it away. None of them looked offended.

"Hey! I thought I was cool!" Cheetor perked up, letting his long metal tail twitch as he grinned at the young teen.

"You are, Cheetor!" Rex laughed.

Taking a deep breath, Jeffery Rory finally calmed down as he watched his daughter hurry over to them and hug his wife. He shook his head as he hugged her next before looking around at everyone, Autobots included. "Okay. I'm holding you to that word." He said, looking directly at Optimus. "But if anything happens to Rex, there are going to be some problems."

Tim and Deanna Lincoln glanced at one another before looking from Nikki to Elena. "Okay. We'll believe you too. We'll put our faith in you with Elena." He announced, taking his wife's hand.

"And Mikaela." Dallas Banes remarked, wrapping his thick arm around Trisha. "We'll trust you with her too. But if anything happens to her," He jabbed a finger towards Reno, who grinned sheepishly at him. "It's going to be your head, Reno. Not theirs. I'm trusting you by trusting these guys." He warned him. Reno just nodded as he folded his arms.

"Well, I still have a major problem with this." Roger said frowning. "I do not like this at all. I hate secrets and you knew that, Trent!"

"Dad," Trent groaned, glaring at him with annoyance. "For crying out loud….!"

But he was cut off when Optimus bent down a little, waving his hand to get his attention. "Trent, it's all right. Your parents are only concerned about your safety. Your father is only trying to insure it. That is something that all creators should feel for their offspring. So don't hold him too harshly." He turned his brilliant blue gaze onto a rather surprised Roger DeMarco. "There is an oath from our Planet that is highly unbreakable. The consequences of breaking that oath means a painful death to the one who breaks it. Hot Rod made that oath when he chose to become Trent's Guardian. The Oath of Guardianship is something so sacred to our people, Mister DeMarco. Not even a Decepticon would break it if they ever chose to make it. Your son will b safe with Hot Rod. And so will you."

Roger just frowned, still not liking it at all. He looked like he wanted to keep protesting but he was obviously biting his tongue hard. He narrowed his eyes at Optimus before looking directly at Hot Rod. "I will kill you, myself, if anything happens to Trent. Got that, Porsche?" He asked sharply.

Hot Rod did not take that lightly. He kept a serious look on his face before he stepped closer and bent down to one knee, crossing one arm across his chest. "If anything happens to Trent, I will gladly let you deactivate me. I'll even give you the nessessary weapon that can total me." He told him firmly. "But it won't happen. 'Cause Trent's my best bud. I don't let anything bad happen to my friends."

For a moment, Roger stared narrow eyed at him before he nodded as if satisfied with what he just said. He turned to Optimus and nodded to him. "Fine. Shirley and I will put our trust in you. But I mean what I said. It won't just be that guy," He tossed a thumb towards Hot Rod, who stood up firmly. "That I will blame if something happens to my son."

Optimus just nodded. "I understand. And I highly respect each and every one of you for your hesistance. If I were in the same position as you, I would be hesitant too. But I give you my word and the honor of my Spark that I will do everything in my power, and my Autobots are the same, that all of your children will be safe." He told them.

All of the Autobots nodded with serious looks on their faces. They agreed with Hot Rod and Optimus Prime. They would happily let the families deactivate them if something happened to their kids.

And for the first time since they all arrived at the Autobot-NEST base, all of the families relaxed and felt their selves trust these new Protectors of Earth and of their children.


	9. Finding Answers

It had been only about a week, almost two weeks since the confrontation with the relatives. Things were going a lot better than everyone thought they would. Almost all of the families spent some time at the Autobot-NEST Base and got to know the Autobots. They found that most of the Autobots were great to be around but not many had a great inspective of some of them; Quick Change, Cheetor and Wheeljack for one.

Quick Change, due to the face that he had a major temper problem. His quick mood changes did not help on his case whenever someone said something that he didn't like. He was just too speedy for his own good. He was constantly getting into trouble for speeding around the base, and trying to be the fastest at everything.

Cheetor's little problem was the fact that he was too cocky. He was constantly doing what Quick Change did, running around the base and constantly getting on Ratchet's or Ultra Magnus' nerves.

As for Wheeljack, well, he was still as accident prone as ever. He was constantly blowing himself or his inventions up and none of the families seemed to be impressed with that. And he wondered why they didn't want their kids to be near him while he was working.

Other than the media mess and the issues with the families, everything was as normal as could be.

"SLAGGING PIECES OF SCRAP METAL!"

Sort of.

While overlooking on some of the work that Hound was doing with Maggie, Glenn, Anya and even Leo Spitz, who finally found out how he could be useful now that he was getting to know the Autobots, Optimus grimaced when he heard Ratchet's voice. He didn't blame the four humans and his Autobot IT for jumping when they heard the Chief Medical Officer ranting and raving as he came into the Intelligence and Communications Lab.

And of course, everyone had to stop what they were doing when they saw that Ratchet was covered in sticky goop and hundreds of colorful feathers.

"Optimus Prime! You have got to do something about those trouble making, Pitspawning pair of twins!" Ratchet roared as he was doing his best to pull of handfuls of feathers, only to have them stick to his palm. He began cursing violently in Cybertronian as he began waving his hand in the air, trying to un-stick all of the feathers. But he failed miserably. "Those two are getting out of control with all of their pranks! And Hot Rod, Quick Change, Cheetor, Jazz and Cliffjumper are not helping! You have got to do something!"

Optimus sighed heavily as he reached up and pinched the bridge of his metallic nose and shook his head. He was starting to realize that the boredom that all of the Autobots were suffering was starting to get out of control. It was because of the entire world looking for them, wanting to see them and they being confined to the Base did the twins start looking for some excitement by playing pranks on everyone.

(ooc: best example of the pranks would be to read Tensh Of Light21's Autobot Pranks, those had me roaring for days!)

"Ratchet," the Autobot Leader sighed, looking over at him. "They are just bored. They haven't been able to leave the base because of the human media. Secretary Keller and the UN feel like it would be a mistake if they went out…"

Ratchet gave him a steely look as he continued to trying to pull the feathers off of his body, pausing to glare viciously at Hound and the humans as they started to snicker; which they quickly stopped. He turned the glare back onto Optimus, shaking his head. "This is getting ridiculous, Optimus! You've got to talk to them or talk to Keller about the situation! I know it's out of the question but everyone needs to get out of the base and do something! The only one that is out there is Jetfire and it's because he's patrolling the globe for the Decepticons until Hound can fix Teletraan!" He ground out, highly irritated. "Optimus, if everyone does get out and get some fresh air soon, things are going to go insane! I'm already going insane with being the target of all of the twins' pranks!"

Again, Optimus side as he reached up and rubbed his nose again. He knew that Ratchet had a point. Things were getting pretty bad. With the entire world looking for the Autobots in the public, the UN wanted them to stay indoors. But everyone was starting to go nuts. Ironhide and Chromia were getting trigger happy, constantly in the armory and shooting range and blowing things up because they were bored. The twins teamed up with some of the other Autobots and even some of the humans to pull pranks on Ratchet, Prowl and unfortunately, Ultra Magnus. They all learned very quickly that he may have softened up a little because of Rex, but he still didn't have much of a sense of humor.

Even Optimus Prime and Elita One were starting to become insane with nothing to do.

Things with the world were crazy and there was still no sign of any of the Decepticons and that was driving everyone even crazier. Most of the Autobots were practically begging Optimus to leave the base to hunt down the 'Cons, just so they would have something to do.

"I will contact Secretary Keller and find out if we can get a break." Optimus finally said as he looked at Ratchet, who was still cursing as he was pulling feathers off of himself. "But there are no promises. With the world knowing who we are now, they will be looking for us. If we want to fit in with Earth, we will have to interact with the humans."

Ratchet sighed as he gave Optimus an impatient look but he nodded. He knew that Optimus could only do so much with the UN. "Fine. But do something about those twins! I've got maple syrup in the deepest creases of my armor! It's going to take forever to get out!" He ground out before leaving.

Optimus just sighed and followed him out, muttering about how he was going to have to find some form of punishment to put the twins under.

"Aye Caramba." Leo said, watching the Autobot Chief Medical Officer leave before raising an eyebrow at Maggie. "I didn't know those two nutballs was that bad."

Maggie just gave him a look as if he was a bug squashed under her shoe before going back to looking at the large screen and working harder to find more info on Leo's memory stick about the Department. A lot of it was encrypted and only Teletraan could seem to sort it out. But it was still malfunctioning due to the virus that Scourge had put in it more than a year ago. It was proving to be quite the handful as they still found traces of it in the Autobot Computer System.

But Glenn snorted as he gave Leo a side glance. "You ain't seen nu'thing yet, man. Wait till you see them get really, really bored. You're just lucky that they haven't picked on you yet." He warned the so called Master of Hackers.

Leo just made a face before he rolled his eyes and moved over to Maggie. "All right, all right. This is getting us nowhere, chica. You've been trying to break the code on my flash drive for a week and it's not working. Why don't you just let me help?" He asked.

Again, Maggie gave him an icy look. "You, Spitz, are the reason we're in this mess. I don't need your help." She said coolly.

"Yeah? Well, I'm getting tired of listening to you grind your teeth. Now move over." Leo said.

"I DO NOT GRIND MY TEETH!" Maggie snarled at him as she smacked his hands away.

Leo gave her an annoyed look before he folded his arms across his chest and faced her. "Look, chica." He began impatiently. "You won't find the encryption code for it. And I'm not just going to tell it to you. Why don't you just let me put it in?" He asked. "Unless you want to be doing this forever. 'Cause it's an Eternity code."

Giving him a very annoyed look, Maggie just stood there, almost stubbornly. She didn't want this idiot's help. She couldn't stand it that someone like him seemed to be better at computers than she was. She had raged hacker battles with him for a long time so she saw him as a rival. But to think that she needed help from an idiotic rival like Leo Spitz, it was very, very insulting. However, she knew he had a point. She had identified the encryption code on the flash drive as an Eternity code, the hardest firewall to get past. She knew it would be almost impossible to break it without the creator. And seeing that Leo was the creator, she didn't have a choice.

Grinding her teeth, and then biting her lip until it nearly bled when she realized that she was grinding her teeth, Maggie threw her hands up into the air and stepped back. "FINE!" She nearly shouted. "Put in the bloody password!"

Leo smirked in satisfaction before he approached the additional keyboard for the large computer and typed in the secret password to his flash drive.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to realize that Hound was watching carefully and he made a face. "Your password is; spank me?" The Autobot IT finally spoke up.

Eyes snapping wide, Leo whirled around and gave the Autobot a look. "DUDE! Passwords are secret! Why are you looking, man?" He demanded.

"Spank me?" Glenn snorted before he burst out laughing. "No wonder Maggie couldn't figure out the password! No one would ever think of 'spank me' as a password!"

Maggie and Anya just eyed Leo dryly, even as his face flushed as he angrily hit the Enter key and the entire screen lit up with tons of files. All eyes lit up as they saw images, video clips and everything came up. They were surprised on what they saw. There were graphs, maps, tons and tons of pictures saved on the flash drive. Most of it was information on the Cybertronians. So many news reports and web clips about alien robots that Maggie and Glenn had spent the entire time trying to take right off the web before the Autobots had been exposed.

But one file caught Maggie's attention and she was already moving forward, lightly pushing past a still somewhat blushing Leo. He didn't seem to argue this time as he stepped back and watched her as she clicked on the file called Project Machination.

"Oh, that. That's one of the files that I stole off of that secret base that the Rex kid was trying to break into last year. There's not a whole lot that makes sense in that file, but it seems kind of complex." Leo remarked.

Maggie just frowned as she clicked on the file and it opened up. Pictures and information popped up that had her eyes growing wider and wider by the moment. Especially when a very old picture that must have been taken in the early 1900's popped up. It was a black and white grainy looking picture of a group of men standing before what looked like a pile of metal. But it only took a moment to realize that it wasn't just a pile of metal.

It was a Cybertronian. And it was torn up badly.

Then other things seemed to pop up. There was another file in the Project Machination file and when Maggie clicked on it, she found that there was information on several people. She tried to look at some of them but all of the names in the files were blacked out. There was a lot of information missing from it. But one caught her eyes and her jaw fell.

And so did Glenn's, Anya's and Hound's.

"Oh, my…Primus! We found her!" The Autobot IT gasped.

It was not long after that did Hound call Optimus back in, as well as several others. He called for Secretary Keller, Simmons, Banachek and most of the American Soldiers in. He even had Ultra Magnus and Rex come in to help with the identification.

And when they arrived, Hound immediately had Maggie pull up the file she had found.

Rex's eyes snapped wide open when he saw Her picture and his jaw fell. He recognized the woman that everyone was staring at. "Hey! It's Agent Cole!" He blurted out.

Of course, everyone else had not exactly noticed that Secretary Keller's eyes bugged and his jaw fell as well when he saw the woman in the picture. He also recognized her. And when he felt peering eyes on him, he glanced side wards to see that Reno Banes had his arms folded and he was watching him.

"According to the information that Leo Spitz managed to get, her name is Agent Cole. She doesn't have a lot of history in her background." Maggie stated as she looked up at the extremely gorgeous red haired woman in the file. "But it does state her status while she was in the Department. It says that she was one of the best Agents the Department had. She had a third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, she's studied kick-boxing. She's an expert in hand to hand combat. But it also says that she knows almost every gun or weapon there is." She looked around as she let Teletraan slowly roll the file down to the bottom. "And it also says that her full name is Colette Jane Keller."

All eyes seemed to move all at the same time as they drifted right onto Secretary Keller, who was gazing up at the beautiful red haired woman with almost a grave but guilty look. There was much sadness but surprise in his eyes. It was like he couldn't seem to figure out what the real story was.

"Any relations, sir?" Lennox asked, frowning as he watched his superior officer.

There was a very long silence before Keller sighed and let his head fall. He stayed that way for a moment before he turned and looked around at everyone. "I should have guessed that this Agent Cole was the same as my daughter. Or my supposedly deceased daughter." He finally told them.

There was a lot of surprised blinks as everyone stared at him.

"Deceased daughter?" Epps asked, his face twisted in confusion just like everyone's. "What do you mean? She's dead?"

"But that can't be. That's who helped me." Rex said, as he shared a glance with Elita One and Ultra Magnus. "That's Agent Cole. She's alive and everything."

Keller just glanced over at him before shaking his head as he pursed his lips. "That is my daughter, Colette. Actually she never liked her full name. She shortened her name to Cole, so I should have realized it. She was said to have been killed in Afghanistan. She was a Special Ops field Agent, well trained. She even served as a body guard because of the skills she put herself through. Are you sure it was her who helped you, Rex?" He asked, frowning.

Rex nodded as he shared a glance with Ultra Magnus and Elita One who both nodded. "Yeah. That's her. But how can she be dead? She was alive when I last saw her. And that was just a little over a year ago." He stated.

"When did she supposedly die, Secretary Keller?" Optimus asked, frowning.

Keller shook his head as he looked back at the picture of Agent Cole. "Well, over five years ago, while the war was still going on in Iraq. She was there in the Middle East, serving a few dangerous missions. I never approved of her being in such danger. But in truth, we never got along, her and I. She hated me for what happened to her twin sister. Colleena." And with that said, he looked directly at Reno Banes.

Reno sighed as he turned his eyes towards the ceiling and shook his head. He was fully aware of all of the stunned looks that was passing between himself and Secretary Keller. "Oh, here we go." He muttered.

"Colleena?" Sam was the one to ask as he entered the room with Mikaela, Dawn, Trent, Bumblebee, Arcee, Hot Rod and the twins.

"You mean, Aunt Colleena? Your Colleena, Uncle Reno?" Mikaela asked in astonishment.

Sighing again, Reno dropped his head before he nodded and shared a look with the Secretary of Defense. "Yup. Colleena Keller. The daughter of Secretary John Keller. Well," He paused, twisting his lips into a faint smile. "Way before he became the Secretary of the Department of Defense."

"Whoa! Whoa!" Epps exclaimed, waving his hands in the air before looking wildly between Keller and Reno. He was sharing the same look with everyone else. They all looked bewildered to have heard that. None of them knew anything about Keller having a daughter. Especially with the fact that Reno had been dating Keller's other daughter. "Wait a minute! Does that mean you two actually knew each other before all of this started?" Epps finished.

Keller and Reno glanced almost forlornly at one another before they both nodded. "I know we never really acknowledged each other in front of all of you. But in truth, Reno Banes and I don't really see eye to eye with each other. It was best if no one knew about our history together." He said almost gravely.

"Uh," Reno muttered dryly as he folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at Keller. "We didn't see eye to eye? John, you punched me in the goddamned face when Colleena committed suicide. You blamed me for what she did to herself. It wasn't my fault that she died."

Quite a few wide eyed looks were trained on Keller and Reno when that was said. They couldn't believe that for one second. But by the look on the Secretary's face, it was true. He was shaking his head, looking exasperated. "Reno, my baby girl had just died then. I was very emotional. I did not mean to take it out on you. But if I remember right, one single punch in the face was simple to what Cole had done to you." He remarked.

Reno rolled his eyes before he rubbed his chin as if he was remembering what happened back then. "Oh, yeah. I remember that. Cole tracked me down right after our little incident and kicked the living hell out of me." He widened his eyes for only one moment before sighing. "She cracked two ribs after beating me up. And sent me to the hospital." He received a lot of wide eyed looks again after saying that.

"I don't understand. You said that your offspring was dead? So how is it that Agent Cole is your same Cole?" It was Prowl who asked, his head only starting to smoke a little but he was fighting himself from glitching out.

Keller looked at the black, white and purple Autobot Security Officer. "I don't understand it myself, Prowl. Five years ago, I received news that the entire Special Ops team that Cole served with had been killed in the war. They had been ambushed and all were dead. It's true that they never found Cole's body. But she was gone. No one ever seen her again. I, and several others, believed that she was blown to pieces from a road side bomb. So I don't understand how she is alive now and why she faked her death." He told him.

Frowning, Maggie and Leo were busy looking through the files and pulling up info before they looked around. "I think I do, sir." The pretty Aussie remarked, catching everyone's attention. She was pulling up pictures of all of the men and women on the flash drive that had no information on them. "As far as I can tell, there are no information on these men and women in the files. But pulling up identification matches with Teletraan's help, I believe I've located some shed of light. But what I can tell, every single one of these people are supposed to be dead. There are some Obituaries on each one of them. If I'm right, all of these people faked their deaths to be in the Department." She turned and looked directly at Keller. "Including your daughter. It must be some kind of secrecy thing for the Department. And it does make sense. No one in the US Government knew of the Department's existence until Rex and Ultra Magnus found them out. So no one knows about who runs it or works in the Department. They won't want any connections with anyone in the world. No families are to know what they are doing. So it makes sense that the Department would have agents who are supposed to be dead to all friends and family. They are a secret organization, after all."

Everyone just frowned as they took in her words before nodding. It did make some sense. They could understand the whole secrecy thing. It was the best way of keeping a deep, dark secret. To have no one know of its existence to was to have no one know who worked for the organization. At least, no one who was alive and well known by friends and family.

"So, Cole faked her death and joined the Department. Why would she do that?" Sam asked, frowning at Keller. "Why does she hate you?"

Keller just shook his head as he looked almost ashamed but deeply saddened. "Like I said, Cole never forgave me for what happened to Colleena. She never liked Reno. She hated him throughout high school. She never approved of him, like I didn't. But when Reno left her sister, she began to worry about her. Colleena was extremely depressed. She started to get sick from crying all of the time just because I wouldn't let her marry Reno. And when she took her own life, Cole kind of snapped. She realized that it was my fault that she was so depressed. I wouldn't let her twin sister be with the one man she was deeply in love with." He said, gravely.

Reno nodded as he looked around at everyone. "She hated me because I ran away from it all. I wouldn't let Colleena give up her family for me. I think she blamed us both." He said, looking right at Keller. "That's why she had no problem sending me to the hospital after being the living tar out of me."

"But you didn't turn her in." Keller said, making it sound more like a question. "She broke your ribs and beat every inch of your life. She could have easily killed you but you didn't turn her in or press charges."

Shaking his head, Reno faintly smiled. "Nope. Cole and I never got a long but there's no way I would turn in Leena's sister. Even if she nearly killed me. I didn't even defend myself against her. I felt like she had the right to beat me up. It was her twin sister that died because I didn't fight for her. Cole had a lot of anger issues back then. And she probably still has 'em. I remember how she used to get into a lot of fights with guys while in High School. She couldn't stand bullies and there was a lot of them back then. She always stood up for girls, never guys. She hated the male population. I never really knew why."

"Is she as lezbo then?" Leo asked, crinkling his nose as he looked at him. Everyone frowned at him almost bewildered or annoyed by his question but he shook his head and threw a hand towards Cole's picture. "Hey! She's hot, okay! I like beauties like her! Besides, you just said she hates guys! So what else am I suppose to think?"

"If you ever meet Cole, don't ever tell her that, kid." Reno said, dryly. "She hates being called beautiful, that she's hot, a babe, or anything. Keep your little pet names to yourself. Don't ever call her 'Chica' or 'hottie' or she will kick your ass. She never cared for her looks, even though she is beautiful. I made the mistake of call her beautiful when I was in the 11th grade, while I was just beginning to see her twin sister, who is identical to her. She kicked my butt back then too. She doesn't care of looks. And no, she's not gay. She's as straight as a needle and just as sharp. She just doesn't tolerate men. She thinks we don't think with our brains but with our di…...well, you get the idea." He said, making a face.

Keller nodded as he cupped his hand around his mouth. "Yes. I remember how much trouble she used to get into. Only a few times did she ever get into fights did I have to bail her out of jail or send her to boot camp. But I think she actually enjoyed getting sent to Detention centers. Cole always was a tough one. She loved challenges. She liked action. She was not soft hearted at all."

Rex just frowned as he looked at Keller. "She was kind of mean to me at first, now that I think about it. But she didn't seem to want me getting hurt. She defended me from several Department Agents. She risked her life to protect me. Her and Sean."

"And she would." Keller said, looking at him. "She might have not liked the male population but she never tolerated child abuse or any violence against kids. I recall her being apart of the Fight Against Child Abuse organization in High School. I know for a fact that she would have fought tooth and nail for your life, Rex."

"Question is, how did she even get mixed up in the Department and where can we find her?" Lennox asked as he looked up at Cole's picture. "If she's not with the Department any more, we are going to need her help finding out more stuff about them. Her and this Agent Sean guy. We'll need them both to track down information about the Department. We need to find them."

Optimus nodded in agreement before looking at Hound. "Hound, can Teletraan locate Cole Keller and Agent Sean's position?" He asked.

Hound glanced at the Autobot Leader before he shook his head as he looked at the large computer. "Teletraan's still malfunctioning when it comes to location searches, Optimus Prime, sir. It'll be more than likely we'll be sent on a wild goose chase just like what happened when we were looking for the Decepticons before they went quiet. We'll be 'playing ring around the rosies' for days. And I honestly don't think we have that much time. With the latest Department sighting, I'm not going to put it past that lot for attacking our human allies again." He stated.

Everyone nodded. They knew that the Department might have been trying to expose them to the world. But now that they were exposed, it would be more than likely they would continue to attack their humans to get at them. Whether the world accepted the Autobots or not.

Again, Optimus nodded as he looked around before meeting Keller's eyes. "I believe that Hound is right. We will need to add protection to all of the humans. But I also agree with Will. We will need your daughter's help trying to shed some light on the Department. Is there any way you can think of that might help us locate her?" He asked.

Keller made a face as he thought for a very long moment. He didn't seem to like the options that was coming up in his head. He didn't look happy for one second. "Well, there is only one person that I can think of. But I doubt she'll know anything about Cole. But I think it's the only idea we have right now." He sighed as he reached up and began massaging his temples. "But I can guarantee you, she won't be happy to see me again."

"Who are you referring to?" Optimus asked, frowning along with everyone.

Almost stonily, Keller looked around very slowly at every single Autobot and human in the entire room. He didn't look too comfortable with telling anyone but he knew it was best if he did. "My Ex-wife, Martha Keller. Cole and Colleena's mother." He simply stated.

And everyone wasn't so sure about this idea, especially when they saw Reno cringing at the very words of Keller's ex-wife. "Oh, slag. Anyone but her." He murmured but Keller just nodded.

All Autobots and all humans had a very bad feeling about this.


	10. Meeting The Ex

It had been decided by Optimus Prime that he took Ratchet, Ultra Magnus, Prowl and Jazz to go with him and Secretary Keller; along with Lennox, Epps, Reno and even Rex was going. It had been decided that they should bring Rex just as a back up plan to be able to see Martha Keller. The Secretary had made it very clear that his Ex-wife was not as friendly as she used to be before their daughters died. Or at least when Colleena Keller had died.

According to Keller, after the suicide of his daughter, there had been a lot of arguments between himself and Martha and that was what caused them to separate. They had too many problems without their daughters in their lives. Things just got too complicated between them and so they decided that enough was enough. Martha was the one who left after all of the arguments.

And now, Keller was going after her.

While everyone else was on the base, the Autobots and the humans were on their way up state, towards Wyoming where they discovered that Martha Keller was living with her new family. Everyone could tell that the Sec Def wasn't exactly too thrilled about seeing his Ex-Wife again. And Reno didn't seem to sit too well with it either. He eventually explained it to Optimus as they drove together on the country side highway.

"If I remember right, Martha Keller isn't exactly the most friendly woman." Reno explained looking over at Optimus' human form as he drove. "She's as hard headed as a bull and she ain't afraid to tell you off if you do something that she don't like. And she don't like a lot of things. She wasn't keen on me seeing Colleena but she didn't fight us like John had."

It took only about five hours from Grand Canyon Autobot-NEST Base to get to Saratoga, Wyoming, where Martha Keller was living. It wasn't too hard to find out where her new home was. With Hound's updated GPS system he gave Optimus, they found it just fine. They found that she lived right by the Saratoga lake, on a ranch. It had an amazing over look of the lake and it seemed that they raised cattle and mustangs. The house on the ranch was more like a very large cabin, made out of logs. But everything about the entire place was beautiful. Even the Autobots had to stare at the scenery all around them. It was one of the grandest sights they had ever seen.

Approaching the house, they were greeted by a large white dog that Rex didn't recognize. It was even bigger than he was. It's head could have easily came up to his shoulders, nearly matching his 5'7" size. He was a little nervous when it came at them but it was Reno who reassured them that it was just greeting him. Rex had never really had a dog so he didn't know that when a dog wagged its tail, big or not, it was friendly.

It was Jazz who finally announced what kind of dog it was. He stated that it was a Great Pyrenees dog. They were sort of like guard dogs, protecting their owners and their live stock, but this one sure was friendly. It ran right up to Rex, ignoring everyone else as they clambered out of the Autobots' human forms and nearly knocked him over, trying to lick his face. It really couldn't be helped for the young teenager to start laughing as he tried to push the extremely heavy animal off of him and keep him from slobbering up his face.

Of course, Optimus had to hold back Ultra Magnus, because the Autobot Commander looked like he wanted to come to Rex's defense, due to the huge animal right on top of him. He didn't seem to like seeing a huge dog knocking his human ward to the ground like that.

"Amos!"

Everyone looked up to see a young man hurrying out of the house with a leash in his hands. He was probably in his late twenties with sandy brown hair and dark eyes. He wore Wrangler jeans and a red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He looked like he was going to have a huge fit, though, seeing that possibly his dog had just knocked someone over.

"Amos! Get off of that kid! You big, dummy!" The man ground out as he hurried right up to the dog and took a hold of his thick leather collar. He pulled the dog right off of Rex, grimacing as he held out a hand to help him up. "I am so, so sorry! He's just crazy about visitors and he loves kids to death!" He apologized.

Rex just laughed as he placed his right hand into the man's hand and stood up with his and Magnus' help. "It's okay. For a moment I thought it was kind of big white bear or something." He laughed before reaching over and petting the dog's large head, since it was trying to get more attention.

The man just laughed before ruffling his dog's ears. "Yeah, he's about that size, ain't he? His name's Amos. And believe or not, but he was the runt of the litter when he was a pup." He said before looking around and linking the leash to the dog's collar to keep him from pouncing on any more people. "Hi there. Name's Gordan Mitchell Richards. Welcome to the Richards Dude Ranch. How can I help ya'll?"

Everyone glanced around each other before Keller stepped forward. It only took a moment for the young man, Gordan to realize who he was. His smile was gone, replaced with surprise that he was actually meeting the United States Secretary of Defense. "Hello. We're here to see Martha. Is she home?" The Sec Def asked.

Gordan paused, still quite stunned before he cleared his throat and nodded. He tossed a thumb towards the large house. "Uh, yeah. She's in the house baking." He motioned for everyone to follow him up to the house, which they hesitantly did so.

At least Keller was sure hesitating. He didn't look too comfortable about being there. He looked like he was ready to back out at any second and no one could really understand why, other than Reno. Even he was hesitating on approaching the house after Gordan. Everyone had to look at both with curious looks but all Keller and Reno did was shake their heads and give them a 'You'll see" look.

Upon reaching the front door, Gordan had unleashed the big dog, Amos and pointed towards one of the corrals near the side of the house. He told the dog to get over there. For a moment, Amos didn't seem to want to listen but then his master told him to get with a sterner tone. The dog did as he was told, jogging over to the wooden posts before plopping down and watching the Autobots' real forms. It definitely made the visitors pause. They were starting to get the idea that the dog was a lot smarter than they would have thought. Especially with him staring at them like that. It was like the dog knew what the cars and trucks really were.

"Ma!" Gordan called into the house as he pushed the front door open and hung up the leash on a coat rack. "Ma! There's a couple of guys here to see you!"

It seemed to have surprised Keller to hear the young man calling for his 'Ma.' It didn't take a genius to realize that it was Martha he was calling for. And it proved to be her for when she appeared in the hallway, wiping her hands on a hand towel.

The late Martha Keller, now Martha Richards was still in her prime, no doubt. She was probably in her late fifties, yet she was still as beautiful as ever. She had graying hair with wisps of red and her eyes were the color of stormy blue. Her hair was cut rather short, but in curls. She was richly tanned, providing everyone with the knowledge that she did a lot of working out in the sun. She was wearing a light blue cotton long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up and blue jeans. She was obviously still baking because there were flakes of flour all over her shirt and arms, even with her trying to wipe it all off. She wore a very warm look on her face as she looked from her son to all of her visitors.

That is, until she saw John Keller.

Immediately the warm smile faded on her face, turning into a very dry and cool look. She was obviously not happy to see her Ex-husband. She shook her head as she dropped her fists to her waist and shifted her weight onto one foot as she stood in the middle of the hall. "Well, well. What in the blazes do we have here?" She asked, firmly yet there was a hint of coolness in her tone. "What in the hell are you doing here, John?"

Forcing a smile, Keller shifted past Optimus and moved closer to Martha Richards. He kept his hands folded in front of him, but let his eyes drop only for a moment. "Hello, Martha. It's good to see you again." He said, trying to be pleasant.

"Can't say the same for you, John." Martha Richards said rather coolly. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Keller shook his head as he glanced around at all of the uneasy looks on the Autobots' faces. They were starting to get the idea that his Ex-wife wasn't as friendly as she looked. Just like how he and Reno warned them. "Martha, there's something really important that we need to talk to you about. Is there anywhere we can talk in private…?" he was asking.

Martha Richards shook her head as she gave him quite a stank eye. "John, the last time we tried to talk, that didn't work out so well. Now, I just want to know why you're here so I can just get rid of you." She glanced at Gordan, who was frowning almost uneasily. He was probably regretting letting Keller and the others come to talk to his mother. "Gordan, go out and finish your chores, all right?"

"Ya sure, mom?" Gordan asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Just git going. Don't worry about this lot. Once I deal with them, they'll be on their way." Martha said, giving only John a cool look. Gordan just nodded before he headed right back out the front door. And as soon as he was gone, Martha dropped her hands and motioned for everyone to come in. "John, talk fast. Because you have exactly five minutes to tell me what you need and then get the hell off my land. You saw that big dog outside? Well, he obeys me pretty well. Especially when I tell him to sic someone."

"Jeez. What did you do to piss your Ex off, Keller?" Epps asked, giving the Sec Def a look.

Martha Richards gave him a warning look before jabbing her finger in his direction. "You, young man, better watch your mouth! You are in my house and I won't hear any swearing under my roof, got that?" She demanded.

Epps grimaced but nodded. "I'm sorry, Ma-am." He murmured.

"And speak clearly. I'm an old woman! My hearing might not be what it used to be but I still can hear you." Martha scolded. Again, Epps grimaced and nodded his apology to her. But she chose to ignore it as she looked everyone over before nodding as if she was figuring something out. "So, I see you brought some of your alien robot friends. I recognize that one from the news report." She said, nodding to Optimus, who gave her a gentle smile. But she ignored that too and looked directly at Reno, her face hardening before she forced a tight smile and shook her head. "Reno Banes. Never thought I'd see your sorry face again. And with John too. What the blazes are you doing here?"

Reno gave her a grimacing smile before he stepped forward a step. "Hello, Mrs. K. Or rather Mrs. R. Nice to see you again too." He told her in greeting.

Martha just narrowed her eyes at him before shaking her head as she closed the door right behind the Autobots and the humans. She paused to look at Rex before looking back at Keller. "Who's the boy? Yours?" She asked.

"No." Keller said, sparing a glance to Rex and shaking his head. "No, he's not mine. This is Rex Rory. We brought him along to meet you." He paused for a long moment before looking right into Martha's eyes, grim as the grave. "Martha, he's here to meet you because Cole saved his life."

There was an almost deafening pause as Martha stared right back at him. She was completely blank, as if she didn't have a clue what he was talking about. But after a moment, her mouth parted in surprise and she looked at Rex then back. "Cole? Cole who? You mean, our Cole?" She asked, now starting to sound surprised.

Keller nodded as he stared into her eyes. "Yes. Our daughter, Cole. Colette. She's the reason why I'm here to see you. Martha," He paused for a few seconds before sighing. "Martha, Cole is alive. She faked her death five years ago. And right now we're trying to find her. Now, if you know anything about her whereabouts, I need to you tell us. Because she's got herself in a deep hole of trouble and she's in danger." He told her, firmly.

Again, there was a long pause as Martha had a stare down with her Ex-husband before she finally sighed and turned away from him. She walked straight into the living room, which everyone followed and plopped down in a pleather couch. She was starting to look very weary and worn out as if hearing that her so called daughter's revival of life had tired her out. She just shook her head as she finally looked around and motioned for everyone to take a seat. She was looking at Keller though, whom sat down next to her. "I guess I should be surprised, but I'm really not." She nodded only once as she looked into her former husband's eyes. "Yes, John. I know Cole is alive. But only recently. I've only known about her for the past three months. I found out that she was alive three months ago, due to her coming here." She told him.

"Cole came here?" Keller asked, surprised.

Martha just nodded as she folded her hands on her knee and leaned back into the couch. "Believe me, I nearly had a heart attack seeing her. I thought she was a ghost of some sort. But she convinced me that she wasn't. I nearly fainted, actually. Cole didn't give me the details of why she faked her death. She just told me that it was for the safety of the family. She explained to me that the Government she was working for had hundreds of agents who were in the same predicament she was in. They all faked their deaths to protect their families. She told me that it was better that no friends or families or loved ones knew about the Agents working for her Department. Apparently the make too many enemies that would use their families against them." She shrugged lightly. "She asked me not to tell anyone about her. You, especially. She wouldn't tell me what was wrong but I knew something was happening with her. She seemed to be in a really sorry state. She was really antsy, anxious, and above all, she was very upset. She didn't actually do it, but I knew she'd been crying before she came here."

That had everyone's attention. Keller, Reno, Rex and Ultra Magnus being the most interested. They looked surprised, if not shocked to hear that. "Cole? Crying?" Reno was the one to ask in alarm. "She was crying?"

"I know." Martha said, exasperated but didn't hold it against him. "In all my years, I've hardly ever seen Cole cry. She wasn't much of a crier when she was a baby through her child years. Believe me, it startled me too. She wasn't actually crying when she knocked on my door but her eyes were a little red. She was either crying or she was very, very tired. I think it was both. She didn't look like she had a decent night of sleep for a while." She shook her head again. "But whatever had her upset, it was bad."

Rex frowned as he looked away from Martha to Magnus, sharing a look before he looked back at her, inching to the edge of the chair he was sitting on. "Mrs. Richards, wasn't there a man with Agent….I mean…..with Cole?"

Now, Martha looked bewildered. She even shot up straighter on the couch. "A man? With Cole?" She looked at Keller with alarm. "Did Cole have a boyfriend I didn't know about?" She asked hurriedly.

Keller shook his head, along with Rex and Magnus. It was the Autobot Commander who responded. "I would think the man would have been an acquaintance of hers, or a friend. Not a lover." He announced.

"Yeah. Agent Sean." Rex spoke up. "He was…..he was Cole's partner. They worked together. But I know he really liked her. He wouldn't admit it to her. He kind of admitted to me, though."

Martha snorted and shook her head as she looked at the young teenager. "I would certainly think not. Cole never did have the patience for men. She didn't tolerate them too well. She always ended up in fights when she was in school with boys. I could and can't ever see her ever settling down. She's like an angry rattlesnake being poked at with a hot poker." She shook her head again as she looked at Keller. "No. She didn't have a man with her. She was alone. But if there had been a man with her, he ain't no more. It's more than likely that whatever partnership or friendship that they had was over or the man is dead. Cole was trying to hide the fact that she was upset but I'm her Mama. Mothers knows when there's something wrong with their children. No matter how well they're hiding it."

Everyone froze to hear that. Rex looked as if he just gotten punched right in the chest and all of the air had been knocked out of his lungs. He was horrified to think that the former Department Agent, Sean had been killed. "Dead?" He asked breathlessly.

Martha frowned at him, but it was dawning on her just how well the boy was taking it. "I'm taking it that this man you're claiming that was with Cole means something to you." She stated.

Rex just nodded as he glanced at her before looking at the ground. Ultra Magnus heaved a deep sigh before folding his arms across his chest. "The man, Sean, helped Cole save Rex's life from their boss." He received a rather puzzled look from the elderly woman but he shook his head and refrained himself from saying any more.

Keller sighed and shook his head next as he looked at his Ex-Wife. "Since you recognize Optimus Prime from the News Conference on the television, you should also be able to recall that I mentioned terrorists wanting to harm the Autobots and all Cybertronians." He received only a nod from Martha. "Like it or not, because I sure don't, Cole was one of them. She was apart of a very top secret organization that was even kept secret from all of the World's Governments. I shouldn't give you the details but Cole was one of the Agents from the organization called the Department. We don't know who they are, where they are, how many there are. But we do know that Cole was one of them." He motioned to Rex and Magnus. "In fact, its due to the boy and this Autobot Commander that we even found out about them. Cole and Agent Sean were assigned to capturing Ultra Magnus and Rex and were eventually ordered from their superiors to kill them both." He shook his head as he folded his hands in front of him. "But apparently, they both had enough consciousness inside of their selves to realize that killing a 16 year old human boy wasn't right. They saved his life instead, along with his Autobot Guardian. And for it, they're in a heap of trouble. The Department is looking for Cole and Sean, probably to kill them and keep us from learning anything about them. If we don't find Cole or even Sean soon, they might just die. Is there anything you can tell us about Cole?" He asked Martha.

For a moment, Martha Richards shook her head as she thought very hard but then she scrunched up her brow as if she thought of something. "Cole only stayed with me and my family for a week. She needed some decent sleep and a decent meal." She then wagged a finger as if trying to point something out to Keller. "But she did make a few calls while she was here. She didn't tell me who she was calling but she made it sound like business calls. I can call up the phone company to get a list of who she might have called." She offered.

But Optimus shook his head, sharing a gentle smile with the elderly woman as his eyes began to glow dimly. "That won't be necessary, Mrs. Richards. I can actually have one of my men look it up. But thank you." He stated before turning his head. He was like that for a long moment, looking as if he was thinking very hard. But after about five minutes of silence and watching the Autobot Leader, he frowned and looked back at everyone. "Hound has looked up your past phone calls and there are only five calls that interest me. One was to Alabama." He paused looking at Rex. "To the Rory Residence."

Rex stiffened, along with Ultra Magnus.

"Another was to the Child Services. The third was to the Nevada State Directory. The fourth was to the Nevada Workforces. And the last was to what looks like a night club in Carson City, Nevada."

Everyone froze to hear that. Even Keller and his Ex-Wife froze to stare at Optimus with surprise. It was for nearly five long minutes did Reno look suspicious with a growing smile on his face before shaking his head. "A nightclub? What kind of night club?" He asked.

Making a face when Optimus looked more into the details before he looked at Reno with a grimace. "I believe humans would call it a Strip Club." He said, almost sounding as if he was regretting even mentioning it. He obviously had looked it up.

Both Keller and Martha looked like they were going to faint any moment as they looked at one another. They couldn't believe what Optimus had just revealed to them. "Are you trying to say that Cole is at a Strip Club in Carson City, Optimus?" The Sec Def asked.

"It actually looks like she's gotten a job there." Epps said, trying not to snicker.

Reno, however, looked crossed between disturbed and impressed about the thought that Cole was working in a Night Club. He snorted, shaking his head as he cupped one hand around his chin. "Actually, it sounds like a good cover up. Because if you knew Cole really well, like I sort of did, you would not catch Cole dead in a Strip Club. No one would expect her being there." He remarked.

Keller made a face as he eyed Reno with almost distaste but he shook his head and sighed. "Well, it's one place we can look for her. The sooner we can find her, the better." He looked at Martha, almost uneasy about what was on his mind next. He knew that she wasn't going to like this last bit at all. "Martha, there is one other problem that we're facing. If we can find you, the Department surely would be able to find you too. I have no doubt in my mind that they will try and use you to get to Cole or us. It would be better if you went somewhere else. Maybe a safe house that we can provide or you can stay at the Base near the Autobots." He told her.

By the look on Martha's face, she did not like that idea at all. She shook her head as she kept a stony look on her face. "And leave my home? Oh, no. That's not happening, John. My husband, Ted, Gordan and I are not leaving our home just because of a bunch of people who you don't get along with." She said stonily.

"Martha, I don't think you understand. These are very dangerous people." Keller said sternly before motioning to Rex. "If they don't have a problem trying to hurt a young teenager like Rex, they're not going to have a problem hurting you. They will use you to get to Cole. They may even kill you just to rile her up and make her do something she might regret."

Again, Martha Richards shook her head as she kept that stony look on her face. "If these people come looking for trouble, they will find it. We're tough ones and that dog of ours has taken on bears before that decided to come onto the land to attack one of our cattle." She remarked.

Sighing heavily, Keller shook his head. He was getting highly irritated by how stubborn that his Ex-Wife could be. But before he could say anything, Reno held up a hand and interrupted. "Martha," He said with his own sigh. "These people will not be scared of your dog, no matter how big he is. They will bring guns and they will use them."

"He's right." Ultra Magnus finally spoke up. He looked directly at Martha with a very firm look. "I've seen these people in action. They're not prone to not harming humans. They tried to hurt a bunch of young humans that are allied with us. I can guarantee you that if they want something done, they will do it. And they'll do anything to make sure what they need done is done. I don't think it will sit well with the Autobots," He nodded to all of them that was in the room then to Keller. "To John, myself or even Cole if you got hurt because of the Department. And it won't be forever. It'll just be for a while until we can deal with these people. You'd be safer with the Autobots more than you would be here." He told her.

For a long time, Martha didn't say anything. She thought about it for a long moment before she finally sighed and nodded. " Fine. I'll talk to Ted and Gordan and find out what they think. I'll try to convince them but I highly doubt it'll work. Ted's a stubborn man. He doesn't like leaving the ranch." She warned.

Keller gave a light chuckle and shook his head as he looked at her. "He'd have to be stubborn if he's married to you. And I don't mean that as an insult or anything, Martha." He told her, raising his hands when she gave him a warning look.

"I guess coming from you it's a compliment." Martha said almost dryly before she looked over at Optimus. "You'll find my daughter and protect her, right?" She asked.

Optimus just nodded. "We will. No danger will come to her if we can get to her before the Department does. It probably won't be very easy convincing her to let us help her. I've learned from Ultra Magnus and Rex that she can be…..tempermental." He said, though carefully.

Martha and Keller both just smiled with raised eyebrows in the Autobot Leader's direction and nodded at the same time. "Yes, she is. She has her mother's temper." The Sec Def said, looking cautiously towards his Ex.

But Martha actually puffed up as if she was proud to have heard that one. She smiled coyly at him and nodded. "Thank you, John. That's the kindest thing you've ever said to me in the last fifteen years since our separation." She told him, receiving only a shrug from him. She stood up and looked around at everyone. "Well, I'll take it that you'll be heading to Carson City next." She jabbed a finger directly at Keller though, giving him a very stern look. "But you lot better not be taking that boy into a Strip Club. No child his age has any business in a place like that."

"No, of course not." Keller said, before looking at Optimus. "I don't think I will go with you either. Like I said earlier, Cole isn't too particular about right now because of Colleena's suicide." He gave an apologetic look to Martha for mentioning it but she shook her head as if brushing it off.

Optimus just nodded before looking around at all of his Autobots. He didn't even have to say anything before Ratchet was the one to raise his hand. "I'll take Secretary Keller and Rex back to the base. I don't think I want to go to this Night Club, even to find Agent Cole." And then he gave Lennox and Epps a sly smile. "And, I won't tell your wives that you went to a Strip Club, even as a mission." He told them.

Both Lennox and Epps looked highly relieved as they looked at the Autobot Doctor. "Thanks, Ratch. I'd rather not have Sarah want to kill me when we get back to the base." The Major remarked.

"Heh! If you think Sarah is bad, Will, you try being married to Monique! She's more capable of killing me more than Sarah is! She is an expert in demolitions after all!" Epps chuckled.

Rolling her eyes, Martha gave both of the two American Soldiers a scornful look as she folded her arms. "You men are all the same. There are things you tend to hide from your wives." She said dryly before giving Keller the same scornful look as if trying to tell him that too. "Husbands should at least be honest to their wives. Especially you, John." She turned away and started heading back towards the kitchen. "Now if you will excuse me, I left some Banana bread in the oven. You lot can see yourself out. And I will talk to Ted about what you said. We'll let you know after you find Cole at that sinful night club. You better call me, John, once you find her! Because I have it in the right mind to give her an earful about lying to her Mama. She should have told me that she was in danger! More or less, working for a bunch of disgraceful killers! She should have told me that much!"

Everyone made a face as they watched her leave. John was shaking his head as he heaved a sigh. Raising an eyebrow, Epps looked at him and Reno. "Yeesh. You guys weren't kidding. She is kind of scary." He remarked.

"She's an Ex-wife." Keller added with a chuckle. "If you think wives can be bad, Ex-wives are worst. I make a suggestion to you to not ever divorce your wives. Keep them happy or they'll make your life a living hell."

And with that, they left the Richards Dude Ranch to go find Agent Cole Keller.


	11. Night Club Shootout

It was not very long before Optimus Prime lead the Autobots to Carson City, along with Lennox, Epps and Reno. Ratchet had waited back at the Richards for the answer from Martha Richards and her family. It wasn't before the day was through when he reported to Optimus that he was taking Keller, Rex and now the Richards family back to the base. It was apparent that Theodore and Martha Richards had had their talk and agreed with Keller that it might be safer for all of them to stay at the base for a little while. Ted Richards had some of his work hands stay at the ranch to run things while they were gone.

And of course, they had to leave the giant dog back at the ranch. Ratchet had put up a pretty good argument about there being no room for a huge animal like that.

As for Optimus Prime and the Autobots going to Carson City, it took the rest of the day to get there. And it didn't take very long to find the night club that Cole might have been at. There were a few night clubs in the city but none that was as flashy as The Exotic Desert Rose. Just pulling into the parking lot had all of their attention.

The Exotic Desert Rose was clearly a former warehouse, remodeled with flashing neon lights of red. There was a sign with a rose among the lights with the sillouette of a woman dancing around it. Music was already booming from inside and out and there was a line of men right outside, waiting to go in. But what had everyone's attention was a man sitting on the curb, nursing a bloody nose while the large brawny bouncer was laughing his butt off on the stool right outside the door.

"Whoa! I wonder what happened to that guy." Epps said as he, Lennox, Reno and the Autobots in their human forms approached the door, which was admitting the men inside.

"Why don't we just ask the bouncer at the door?" Reno remarked as he took out his ID from his wallet.

It only took a few minutes for all of them to get to the door, where the bouncer, a really big built black man, was still laughing and watching as the man on the curb let blood drain from his nose. He was having a hard time stop laughing even as he checked the IDs handed to him. "Hey, what happened to that dude?" Epps asked, looking at the man.

The bouncer just snorted another laugh as he glanced at the man in the curb before shaking his head. "That foo' got too feisty with one of the dancers. He thought it was okay yanking her off the stage onto his lap for a lap dance. Too bad our inside bouncer doesn't think so. Totally knocked him around before throwing him out on the street. That's one rule we have here. The dancers can touch you but there won't be any grabbing from the customers." He told them.

The Autobots and the human men looked at one another, almost uneasily before Reno began to smile suspiciously as he took back his ID and stuffed it back into his pocket. "Got a question for you then. Is your inside bouncer a guy or a woman?" He asked.

A sly smile curled on the bouncer's face as he looked directly at him before nodding. "A woman. Watch out for Red, man. You don't want to piss her off. She came here to the Rose to get a job as a dancer but only a week after she started, she proved to be more bouncer material." He laughed. "I've had a great time just watching her kick a bunch of guys' asses just because they got too rough with the dancers. She's a fierce one. Even though I'm a lot bigger than she is, she still could kick my ass." He remarked.

Snorting, Reno looked back at his companions and nodded. "Yup. We found Cole, all right. That could only be her." He remarked before he lead the way into the building.

Once inside, all seven were greeted by blasting music and flashing lights. The music that being played at the moment was Three Days Grace's Animal That I Have Become. The club's inside was very big with lots of chairs and tables surrounding circular stages with long metal poles sticking out of the ground all the way up to the low ceiling. There were exotic dangers already on the stages dancing to the music booming. Men were watching with excitement was they were entertained.

Just glancing at the Autobots, Reno, Lennox and Epps nearly started laughing to see the looks on their faces. All of the Autobots were staring around the crowded room with wide eyes and alarm to see the nature of the women that were dancing on the stages. They were not used to sights like this. Prowl was taking the worst out of it. His eye was starting to twitch as he stared at a pole dancer and everyone was very sure that if they looked outside at the Dodge Charger Police cruiser, its hood would probably be smoking.

"Prowlie." Jazz laughed when he noticed, clapping the man in full black on the back. "Don't even think about what you're seeing, man. Just concentrate on finding Cole Keller. We don't need you glitching out on us."

Prowl blinked several times before he nodded and started to look okay again.

Optimus cleared his throat as he looked around, deciding that advice was better for all of them. "Reno, maybe you should at least explain a little of what a Strip club is. I don't think any of us really understands." He told his human ward.

Reno just smiled and folded his arms as he looked around at all of the Autobots, who were still gawking around the room. "Okay. A Strip Club is where men come to watch exotic dancers express their selves in a kind of…..well, alluring dance. It's all about men's entertainment. They like watching the way that women move to the rhythm of music." He explained.

Slowly nodding Optimus was starting to understand. But he knew that this wasn't going to be easy at all for all of them. He knew that they'd better concentrate on finding Cole Keller instead of paying attention to the way that the exotic dancers were moving. "All right. Let's split up and see if we can find anything on Cole. According the guard outside, she is going by the name of Red. If you find her, let all of us know." He told them.

"Uh, you know what, Optimus." Reno remarked looking off somewhere else. "I don't think we need to look too hard for her. Because there she is."

Everyone looked to where he was pointing at, which a far stage in the corner with a lot of men standing around it. A new song, Muse's Supermassive Black Hole had just came on just as the exotic dancer came onto the stage and began her routine. And everyone but Reno and Ultra Magnus nearly bugged out their eyes to see her.

The exotic dancer was very beautiful with thick red hair spilling down around her in curls and waves. She was wearing a black leather skirt with net nylons and knee high black leather high heel boots with only a black leather bikini top, revealing her creamy skin. A lot of men were cheering and cat calling her as she danced sexily around the pole in the middle of the stage. She ignored them as she continued her routine, swinging around the pole with one heel hooked around it to keep her on.

It was easy to say that everyone in the group had let their jaws drop wide open, and eventually it had Reno laughing when he glanced around at all of them. Even the Autobots were staring with wide eyes and jaws open wide.

"Damn! That is one fine lady!" Epps finally perked up as he shook his head after hearing Reno laughing.

Lennox cleared his throat and shook his head as if he was shaking himself out of his stupor. He looked around at the Autobots, were who were still gawking, minus Ultra Magnus. The Autobot Commander seemed to be the only one who didn't care for how sexy that Cole Keller looked. "Um, we should probably get her attention and see if she will talk to us." Lennox suggested.

Clearing his throat and rubbing his somewhat reddening neck, Optimus nodded as he looked around at his Autobots. Jazz had to shake Prowl to get him to stop twitching his eyes. "Yes. That's the best suggestion." The Autobot Leader stated as he already started after Reno as he took the lead.

The entire group stood near the stage, watching as Cole danced around the pole, not even paying attention to her audience. She seemed to only be concentrating on her job. She was quite a good exotic dancer as it was. She grabbed a hold of the pole once she stopped swinging around it and flipped upside down, using her strength to hold on to it. For an added affect, she did a split in the air before letting herself flip back down to her feet.

"Hey! Hey, baby! Give it to me baby! I wanna see your tits!"

The men and the Autobots frowned and glanced to the side to see who was yelling such crude words and they spotted a biker looking fellow standing nearest to the stage. He was howling with four other bikers, high-fiving them and continuing the crude calls.

"Hey! Baby! Take it all off! Let's see what you really look like under those clothes!" The biker called again.

Frowning almost darkly, Reno shook his head and folded his arms as he watched the crude biker continue his rude comments towards Cole. "That guy better shut up or Cole's going to kick his face in." He muttered for only Lennox, Epps and the Autobots to hear.

Of course, the biker kept it up before he reaching out and tried to grab Cole's leg as she swung around the pole, still dancing in such a sexy and exotic way. "Hey! I'll give you money if you give me a lap dance without those clothes on…" He was saying.

But of course, Cole didn't seem to like be touched. Her face had already been darkening as she heard the biker's crude words but she had chosen to ignore them. But she would not ignore the fact that someone just grabbed her leg. She shot the biker the darkest look before she lashed out a foot and kicked the man's hand hard, causing him to yowl in pain.

"OW! What the fuck! You stupid bitch!" The biker snarled before he lashed out and grabbed a handful of Cole's nylons, trying to yank her towards the edge of the stage.

Glaring fiercely at him, Cole stopped dancing and turned to give him another kick, more like aiming for his face. But before she could even manage to kick the biker in the face, a strong hand lashed out and grabbed the biker's wrist, squeezing only hard enough to make him let go of her.

Surprised, the biker swung around to glare at who was interfering only to be freeze when he found himself looking into the cold blue eyes of the tall and powerfully built human form of Ultra Magnus. He couldn't help but cringe back, yanking his hand back out of the Autobot Commander's grip.

Of course, even Cole finally noticed him and looked down at him in surprise.

But Ultra Magnus paid her no attention as he glared directly at the biker, letting his hand drop to his side. "I suggest you leave right now. I won't have you attempting to harm her, even though she's well manageable of defending herself." He said very coldly.

"What the hell?" The biker snarled before looking around at all of his companions who stood up and started to back him up. "Who the hell do you think you are? Can't you see that we're just trying to have fun?"

Ultra Magnus just narrowed his eyes dangerously before tilting his head to look at Optimus' hand when he dropped it onto his shoulder. Every one of the Autobots and the three human men had stepped forward to back up the Autobot Commander to glare at all of the bikers. "Gentlemen, if you are wise, you won't mess around with this one. And I don't mean him." Reno said, tossing a thumb towards Ultra Magnus. He folded his arms across his chest. "The lady can wipe your face all over the floor without breaking out a sweat."

"Hick, you and your punk friends better back off or….!" The biker started warning.

Prowl moved forward, pulling back his black jacket and revealed the police badge he was carrying on him. "Or you'll what?" He asked way too seriously.

The bikers eyed the police badge with surprise before they began to back away. They might have just been rough and gruff bikers, but even they knew better than to mess around with a cop. The head biker looked like he wanted to keep on fighting but his companions were grabbing his arms and started to drag him towards the exit.

"Forgive him, Officer. We're just leaving." One remarked before slapping the arguing biker's head when he tried to protest. "Shut up, man! You want to end up in the can for the night?"

Prowl, of course, just had to frown and glance around while everyone else was glaring after the bikers. "What do they mean they will end up in a can?" He asked.

Snorting, all of the Autobots and the three humans glanced at him before shaking hteir heads. They really didn't want to explain it to Prowl right now. "Don't worry about it, Prowlie. It's just a human saying for brig." Jazz said laughing, patting the Autobot Security Chief on the back. And then he turned with everyone to look at Cole.

And that's when Cole Keller lashed out and punched Reno Banes right in the face, sending him sprawling backwards into the crowd of men, who were all laughing. "You son of a bitch, Reno Banes! What the hell are you doing here?" She snapped, glaring at him.

Everyone froze with alarm, though Optimus was already hurrying over to Reno's aid, helping him get set back on his feet.

Groaning and chuckling, Reno rubbed his now sore chin as he looked at the extremely pissed off looking red haired beauty, who looked ready to swing at him again. "Hi, Cole. It's nice to see you too. It's been nearly fourteen years since we last met. I'm glad to see that your right hook hasn't changed much." He said a little sarcastically.

Cole just glared harder at him before she moved forward to lash out at him again. She didn't get too far because Ultra Magnus swung an arm to block her off and hold her back. So she decided to ignore Reno and shot the Autobot Commander a dark look next. "And you! What are you doing here?" She demanded, her gaze shifting from Ultra Magnus to Prowl, remembering the Security Chief just as well.

Ultra Magnus didn't look a bit fazed as he folded his arms across his chest and looked her square in the eye. He looked as if daring her to swing at him next, even though it wouldn't do much to him at all. He could have easily evaded it, being a holographic image more than anything else. "Looking for you, Agent Cole. We had a run in with the Department. They came after some of our human allies because one of their friends were caught snooping around. One of the files that the kid found was on you. It had your full name, your relations with Secretary John Keller and we found out from your femme creator, mother, where we could find you." He tilted his head to the side. "We also go the impression that you made a call to Rex's family in Alabama. Why? Are you looking for him?" He asked her.

Almost glaring at him, Cole shook her head as she thought about his questions. "I was checking on him. I was just trying to find out if he was safe or not. I talked with his uncle, asked him where I could find him. He wouldn't tell me because I wouldn't tell him who I was. But he did tell me that he was safe and that was that." She said, almost grumpily. "Now, why are you here? How did you even find out who I really was?"

Ultra Magnus didn't reply but looked right back at her. But Optimus stepped forward, trying to smile warmly at her. She did not return it. "Cole Keller, I am Optimus Prime. We found out who you were due to a young human hacker who was snooping around on Department files. He had a file on you and it said your name. Plus, we simply had to ask your father about you. He told us that you were suppose to be deceased but with confirmation from your mother, Martha Keller Richards, we found you just fine." He said calmly.

Narrowing her eyes at him, Cole folded her arms and shook her head. "John Keller might have helped concieve me, but he is not my father. He stopped being my father when he even started politics." She said very coldly. "Now, what do you want with me? Why did you track me all the way here?"

"We want to help you stop running from the Department, Cole." Reno said, still rubbing his aching jaw.

Shooting him a look, Cole jabbed a finger in his direction. "You do not talk to me, Reno! I don't want to hear a word from you! You!" She jabbed her finger right into Ultra Magnus' chest, who glowered at her. "Where is the kid? He better not be here! He has no business…!" She was nearly yelling at him.

"Rex is not here." Magnus cut her off, glowering at her. "I would never bring him to the likes as this place. He's safe back at home, with Robert's wife. Whom is his foster father and mother."

Cole glanced over at Epps who spared a grin and a wave at her before shrugging. She chose to ignore him before looking back at Magnus again. She looked as if she was considering her next words carefully so not to say anything that she might regret.

But before she could, Magnus held up a hand. "Where's Agent Sean?" He suddenly asked.

In all honesty, Cole looked as if she had just been slapped. She flinched away from the large brawny Autobot, looking at him in surprise before she looked away, her face starting to twist with pain. She didn't look like she dared to look Magnus in the eye. But all she could do was shake her head. "The Department Agents got him." She said very quietly. "He gave himself up to Freddricks, whom you should remember well, just so that I could escape."

Frowning, Magnus looked at her with dry surprise before he heaved a sigh and unfolded his arms, letting them fall to his side. He stood there for a moment before glancing at Optimus as if he had said something to his older brother. The older Autobot just nodded before looking back at Cole. "Agent Cole, will you please come with us? We can protect you from them. And we could use your help stopping them. And perhaps we save your partner again." He said quietly.

"Sean is dead!" Cole said almost harshly, looking up at the Autobot Commander with a dark look. "There is no saving him again! There is no way that Freddricks would have taken him alive again! Not after everything we did to keep him and the Department away from the kid! And tell me why should I help you? Why would I want to take down the Department?" She asked coldly.

"So you can stop running and hiding from them." Lennox spoke up before any one else could. He got quite the surprised look from Cole, as well. But he chose to ignore it as he shook his head, looking directly into her eyes. "Because you can help us take them down and stop them from trying to hurt more innocent people. And it would definitely give you a chance to avenge your partner if he really is dead."

For a moment, Cole didn't say anything as she looked directly at him. But then she narrowed her eyes and looked very sour. "Well, try telling them that then." She said nodding away from the three men and four Autobots.

Frowning, everyone slowly turned to see where she had just nodded to and noticed that there were six men in suits now walking into the club. They hadn't noticed them or Cole yet, but they were looking around as if they were enjoying the view of exotic dancers on the stages. Ultra Magnus recognized one of the Department Agents immediately.

Agent Freddricks.

It only took the Department Agents a moment to look around and see Cole as she stood in the middle of several men. Freddricks seemed to freeze for a moment before he sneered and headed straight for them. He didn't seem to have recognized Ultra Magnus or Prowl, though. He barely even noticed them as he just stared directly at the glaring Cole. "Well, well, well. Agent Cole, your sure looking fine tonight. I never pictured you as the stripper type. But I gotta say, I'm liking the view." He said, grinning as he looked her over.

Cole's face hardened and she gritted her teeth before starting to step towards Freddricks. She didn't get too far because Magnus rose an arm and blocked her off from going to start a fight with Freddricks. He was giving the Department Agents quite the dark look, not happy to be dealing with them again.

However, the moment that the Autobot Commander had moved, Freddricks frowned and looked at him. He stared at Magnus for a moment, looking confused. It was like he recognized him but he couldn't place his identity. But after only but a moment, his eyes slowly widened with realization and horror and he stepped back, causing his fellow Agents to tense up. "Oh, shit!" He swore loudly, now wrenching his black suit jacket open and reaching for his gun. "It's Him! He's the One from Montana!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Prowl warned, now pulling back his own jacket to reveal his police badge. "There are too many people in this building and someone could get hurt."

But of course, the Department Agents didn't seem to care as Freddricks was the first to yank out his gun and aim straight at Ultra Magnus. He pulled the trigger without any hesitation and there was a violent spark as the Autobot Commander flinched once before glaring at the D-Agents with brightly glowing blue eyes. It was very clear that the bullet had passed right through his holographic imager and slammed into the wall right behind him. All four humans; Cole, Reno, Lennox and Epps had flinched and backed away from the Autobot Commander as if they knew what would happen next.

"Big mistake." Growled Ultra Magnus before he flickered right out of view.

"Oh, Primus!" Optimus groaned before he too quickly flickered out of view, probably to stop his older brother from doing anything he might regret later.

Again, of course, that didn't stop the Department Agents from firing off their guns at the Autobots and towards Cole, who had grabbed Reno's arm and literately tossed him behind a stage before shoving Lennox and Epps behind another one as she barrel rolled across the ground. They were lucky enough to have missed being hit by the flying bullets.

Still, the damage was done.

As soon as the firing began, exotic dancers began screaming and men began diving in all directions to avoid getting shot. They were running away from where the shooting was being taken place. The Department Agents tried to shoot at Jazz, Prowl and even at where Cole was hiding with Lennox and Epps. Gunfire ripped through the air even as the remaining two Autobots flickered out of view.

Suddenly, the entire building shook violently before the roof was ripped right off, revealing a pair of vicious blue eyes, that were flickering from blue to red. It was not hard to make out Ultra Magnus as he glared down at the startled six Department Agents, who quickly rose their guns and started firing at him. The bullets bounced right off of the Autobot Commander's armor, richocheting elsewhere. He practically snarled at them as he rose an arm and aimed his large cannon right at them.

"Ultra Magnus!" Optimus Prime yelled from somewhere behind him. "Do not fire on the humans!"

"I got 'em! Mags, step back, mech! I'll take their guns away!" Jazz yelled as he bound over to the building and thrust his arm over the building's roof.

There was a vibrating noise in the air before the guns were ripped right out of the six D-Agents' hands, slamming right into Jazz's claws. With them being unarmed, Freddricks and the Agents quickly rose their hands and attempted to back peddle away from the extremely pissed off looking Ultra Magnus.

"Lennox! Epps! Reno!" Optimus shouted as he appeared right beside his older brother, grabbing a hold of his shoulder and trying to pry him away from the ruined night club. "Hurry! Come outside! We should leave before this gets out of control!"

Lennox, Epps and Reno quickly stood, already racing towards the door. Reno, however, paused to look at Cole as she jumped up and rushed right over to Freddricks, tackling him around the stomach and throwing him to the ground. She was already throwing punches right into his face, even as he grunted when they hit the ground. He yelled loudly in pain and anger as she continued to punch him.

"Where is he?" Cole screamed into Freddricks' face before punching him and drawing blood right out of his mouth. "Where is Sean? What did you do to him, you son of a bitch?"

Glaring up at her, Freddricks lashed out a hand and grabbed her around the throat while kicking one let up and knocking her right over his head. He quickly followed her and sat right on her stomach, wrenching back a fist to punch her right back. He didn't seem surprised to see the glaring defiance in her eyes as she looked up at him. He had always known that she was a tough one and she could take a hit pretty well. "Don't worry about your boyfriend, bitch! You'll be joining him soon enough!" He yelled before starting to throw his fist.

But, again, a body hit him hard throwing him right off of Cole and to the ground.

Cole, startled, quickly jerked her body to her side and pushed herself up to see that it had been Reno who tackled Freddricks and was now having his chance of punching the Department Agent in the face, nearly knocking him out before he was on his feet again. He ignored the groaning Agent as he jerked around and grabbed Cole's arm, pulling her too her feet. "Come on, Cole! Let's get out of here!" He yelled, pulling her towards the door.

Of course, it didn't settle too well on Cole's part that Reno, of all people, had grabbed her and was dragging her towards the door. She gritted her teeth and yanked her hand right out of his grip, startling him. "Don't touch me, Banes! I still have questions for that….!" She was saying as she spun around to march right back over to Freddricks.

But she didn't get too far.

A large hand swooped down from above and wrapped around her, startling her so bad that she seemed to have lost her knack of communication for a moment until she looked up to see that it was Ultra Magnus who had just grabbed her. She balled up her fists and began pounding on his metal fingers as he lift her right up and out of the Night Club. "Hey! Let go of me! Put me down right now!" She screamed at him.

"Oh, shut it! We're getting out of here!" Ultra Magnus growled at her as he began to transform before stuffing her into his cab as he finished. He really had to block out her screaming, though as she began yelling obscenities at him.

All of the Autobots were quickly transformed back into their vehicle forms, throwing their doors open to let Lennox and Epps jump into Prowl and Jazz. Optimus was waiting as Reno came running out of the ruined building, racing directly for him.

But as soon as he was even half way to the Autobot Leader, the Department Agents were out the door, yanking out another gun they must have had hidden somewhere on their person. Freddricks, of course, was in the lead, with blood trailing down his face from his bleeding nose and mouth after the abuse he had just gotten from Cole and Reno. He raised his secondary gun right after Reno and fired it.

Luckly for Reno, the bullet merely grazed his arm. But it didn't mean it didn't hurt. He yelled out in pain, sliding to a stop and slapping a hand on the now bleeding graze just on his bicep. He had to jerk around to glare at Freddricks as he was preparing to fire at him again, possibly for a killing shot this time.

But of course, Optimus Prime would not have it that his human ward being hurt.

His engine revving very loudly, the Autobot Leader hit his gas pedal and charged forward until he was in between Reno and the Department Agents. He took that time to let out a very loud, angry blow of his horn, causing all of the Department Agents to flinch and drop their guns so that they could cover their ears.

It was then headlights came out of no where as a loud revving engine came roaring into the Night Club parking lot. Tires squealed across the pavement as a car came roaring right up to where the minor fight was happening.

And everyone had to do a double take to make sure that it wasn't a pissed off Prowl that was speeding right for the Department Agents, slamming on his brakes as he came inches from hitting the six men, who yelled out in terror and scampered across the black pavement.

None of the humans or the Autobots had expected to see that Saleen Mustang come out of no where to their aid, so they were all quite shocked and speechless.

Even as the Mustang clicked and seemed to explode into his transforming into his real form. Violent scarlet eyes glared down at the six Department Agents as they cowered under his cannons trained right on them, staring up at him with shock and fear. They were practically lying right on the ground, looking up at the Decepticon as he glared down at them, ignoring the sounds of more tires squealing and chains clinking loudly as a large tow truck joined him. It was quick to transforming and joining him to point his cannons at the six.

Of course, every one of the Autobots and the four humans with them stared at the two Decepticons with alarm.

And since he was the only one that did not have a passenger at the moment, Optimus Prime was quick to transforming, standing over Reno, the six Department Agents and the two Decepticons. He spun his arm until it transformed into his cannon and pointed it right at Barricade and Groundhog.

The two Decepticons didn't seemed fazed getting a cannon pointed at them. They just shot the Autobot Leader a glare but held their fire on the humans. Barricade had to hold up one hand to get him not to fire on them though. "Hold your fire, Prime!" He growled, his voice grinding as if he was injured. And now that every one did get a double look at the two Decepticons, they realized that the two were actually rather beaten up. Their armor was a little dented and bent as if they had just been in a battle, their selves.

"We're not here to cause trouble!" Groundhog added, letting his cannons spin back into his arm before he raised his hands in surrender for the both of them. "We're here to assist you!"

Optimus frowned but held his fire as he lift his cannons only a fraction so that he wasn't pointing directly at them. But there was no way he was going to put it away. Not until he knew that the two Decepticons weren't there to start a fight. "Barricade, Groundhog, why are you here? What do you mean you're here to assist us?" He asked, rightfully confused.

Barricade kept his cannons trained on the six Department Agents as they were finding some courage to stand up and look wide eyed between the three metal giants. They weren't sure what to do with this situation at all. "We've been scouring this fragging city, looking for you, Prime!" snarled the Decepticon Police cruiser. "We've got a problem! And it deals with you too! Starscream's hurt really bad and we're in need of your Medical Chief Officer's skills to fix him!"

Stiffening, Optimus finally decided to lower his cannon a little more, looking at the pair of Decepticons with confusion. "What? What do you mean….?" He asked, confused.

"We mean, Starscream is in forced recharge because that pit forsaken Megatron, who is not Megatron any more beat him so bad that he nearly knocked his Spark Chamber right out of his chest!" Barricade snarled again, snapping his cannons away and not caring for the Department Agents any more. "Megatron is dead! He never came back as Megatron! He was a pit sucking Minicon all along! His name is Galvatron now!" He snapped.


	12. A Decepticon Mutiny

It had come as a shock to all of the Autobots when they learned what happened with the Decepticons. It had taken a minute to get Barricade and Groundhog to explain while Prowl was pretty much shoving the Department Agents into his rear seats. They had not easily forgotten about them and it was the right time to actually take them in and possibly question them, even though Cole kept shouting about how they should just get rid of them for good.

TFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTF

According to Groundhog, since Barricade was too busy growling and swearing in Cybertronian and not being too happy that they were forced to turn to the Autobots for help, things had gone very, very sour with the Decepticons.

And it had started right after the Autobots introduced their selves to the entire world.

"Optimus Prime, you said that you are here to protect mankind from the Decepticons. What exactly have we, Earthlings or humans done to them to make us hate us so much? Why are they trying to destroy us?"

"The Decepticons believe in only destruction of life." The Autobot Leader had said. "They believe that Cybertronians are the superior beings because of our size and long life. They believe that because we are nearly the largest beings in the Universe, we are the superior beings. And they believe that we should attack all Planets with life and rule all. I and the Autobots do not believe that. We believe that all sentient beings have the right to choose for their selves. And I have seen what humans can do. Yes, there is some things that humans do that we do not agree with. But we have much goodness in your people. There are a lot of good people on this planet. I have seen a great capacity of courage, compassion, greatness and understanding from humans. With the three years that I have been on this Planet, I will be never more honored than I am now to know many humans. I, and the Autobots will do what it takes to see that your future is a great one. We will help you if you allow us. We can learn a great deal from each other. Earth can learn how to overcome war and hatred by listening to our stories. And maybe," Optimus Prime had paused. "Maybe, we can learn a great deal from humans that we have not been able to learn for our selves. I am….."

The computer screen clicked off once they had heard enough.

All of the Decepticons stood in silence, looking around the Nemesis' hangar, waiting for what Megatron would have to say about the whole deal. They were all surprised that this had happened. They were surprised that the Autobots would have made such a bold move such as revealing their selves to the pitiful insects of Earth. They weren't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Especially after that wretched Prime had told the world about the Decepticons.

Starscream was standing furthest away from the Decepticon Leader, knowing very well that if he wasn't happy about the revealing, it would be him that he would beat on. The Seeker was Megatron's favorite punching bag whenever he was angry. He watched the ever so faithless Decepticon Leader with wary eyes, ready to bolt at the very sign of him getting angry. He was not going to let Megatron beat on him today. Not after he had made Groundhog and Hook put his wings back on after the last beating that the Decepticon Leader had given him. He was still very sore when Megatron took his anger out on him, ripping off his wings so that he couldn't attempt to fly away like he tried to do.

But for a very long time, Megatron was quiet, staring at the blank computer screen. The wheels were definitely turning in his head and almost all of the Decepticons could see that. They knew that their leader was thinking very hard about what move they should pull next.

After a long time, a rusty, twisted chuckle escaped from Megatron as he dipped his head down thoughtfully. "So, the secret is out now. The fleshlings know of our existence. This should make things very interesting now." He hissed mostly to himself.

Seeing that Megatron was actually amused, Starscream braved himself to stepping forward. "What is the plan now, Lord Megatron?" He asked still being cautious.

Megatron shot the Seeker a look, causing him to flinch back a little but he chose not to lash out at him. He just chuckled darkly at he looked around the hangar at all twenty Decepticons he had under his service on this dirt ball of a planet. "Decepticons, the Autobots have pulled a very risky move. They have revealed their selves and us to the world. The disgusting humans know that we are here now. I believe its time to up our plans. It's time to show these insects why they should be afraid of us! They should cower in fear of our might instead of glowing with pride that they have those disgraceful Autobots as Guardians." He sneered as he looked from one Decepticon to the next. His scarlet eyes fell onto the rather beaten up Sideways, who had spent just as much time as Starscream getting beaten by the Decepticon Leader. After the revealing of Sideways being a betrayer to Megatron and still working for the big ball of metal called Unicron, he'd been carefully watched by the Decepticon leader and a few others. He was even being carefully watched by Barricade, since he was the best choice of keeping an eye on the betrayer. But what surprised most of the Decepticons was that Megatron merely smiled in a sadistic way at Sideways, who nodded as if he'd just been told to do something. He was already moving away from Barricade, who shot him a look and made to reach out to grab him to yank him back to his side. "Leave him, Barricade!" Megatron snarled.

Barricade immediately halted, looking just as surprised as everyone had. They had never thought that Megatron would ever snap at him in Sideways' case. "My Lord, Megatron?" The police cruiser asked.

"It's time that things changed, Decepticons." Megatron sneered around at everyone as he looked after Sideways moving towards the large hangar doors. "This war with the Autobots is getting us no where. With them being allied by the miserable humans, we are losing the battles. It's time that we changed our tactics if we want to destroy these miserable insects and the Autobots." He flicked his hand in Sideways' direction, which nodded and pressed the button to open up the hangar.

The Nemesis' doors clanged loudly before they started to roll open. It was night time, dark as dark can be outside. But all of the Decepticons could see that there were several pairs of glowing red eyes from outside the ship, causing all of them to tense up.

"Decepticons, meet our new arrivals." Megatron said with a dark chuckle. "With their help, we will win this war. We will destroy the Autobots, take all of the Energon within this mudhole Planet and we will revive our Master."

There were at least six pairs of glowing red eyes just outside the Nemesis. Two smaller ones were in the lead while three of the largest were in the middle. The last one was hidden behind all of the other five. But judging by one of the first two in the front, all of the Decepticons stared in shock. They knew most of the whole lot of new arrivals, but not the last one. But two of them were quite recognizable as the two Minicons they had helped the Autobots fight almost over a year ago.

The one in the front; the one that they recognized from over a year ago was the Master of the Sweeps and Pretenders. Scourge.

And right behind him was Cyclonus.

Both of the Minicons looked a little different from when the Decepticons last seen them. They weren't so torn up from the vicious battle that had taken place between them and the Autobots and Decepticons. Scourge even looked a little bigger than last time. He had definitely been altered a little and completely fixed after being offlined by the human; Reno Banes. He still looked rather serpentine like but he was much bigger and more vicious looking.

As for Cyclonus, his armor had definitely been removed of all of the dents and gashes that had been placed on him.

But still, they were there. They were in one piece again after being blown to pieces with Cataclysm by the femme Autobot, Spitfire. Somehow they were put back together and revived. And that was not a very good sign.

As for the others, the new arrival right beside Scourge was a somewhat familiar Decepticon and one of the few female Decepticons. They knew her reputation to very vicious, yet very sultry. She was one that not many of the Decepticons liked to cross. And she was what they would call a Predacon, since she took the form of a giant black widow spider. Her name was Blackarachnia. She was walking up the ramp with all eight of her legs clicking against the metal, smirking in such a seductive yet dangerous way as she let her fiery red eyes look over the gaping Decepticons.

The two larger new arrivals right beside Cyclonus were not easily recognizable but they weren't known. The first nearest to Cyclonus was no doubt a Decepticon Seeker. He almost looked exactly like the Decepticon/Autobot Seeker, Jetfire. But unlike Jetfire, he did not have the spines of metal like Jetfire did, serving as some sort of beard. He actually had smaller metal spines, serving as a goatee. And he was not completely black like Jetfire. He was a very dark shade of purple, close to black with yellow strands running all over his frame, along with Cybertronian markings. But it was no doubt that he would be just like Jetfire; a stealth Jet, yet it looked like he had taken on the form of a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit.

Either way, Starscream and the Decepticon Seekers knew who this was by legend. He was just as legendary as his twin brother. His name was Jetstorm and he was supposed to be dead from a long, long time ago. But, like Scourge and Cyclonus, here he was. Glaring directly at Starscream.

The other new arrival beside him was slightly smaller to Jetstorm but he still looked just as vicious. He no doubt took the form of a helicopter, though no one could be certain what kind. He had six long blades hanging down from his back and it looked like they could be detached to use as weapons. He was a sleek, obsidian black color, other than his burning red eyes.

And it was Nemesis Strika who confirmed his identity.

"Obsidian!" The large Decepticon female gasped as she took several steps towards him. She couldn't believe her eyes, nor could any one else. They knew General Obsidian's reputation and they knew he should have been just as dead as Jetstorm, Cyclonus and Scourge. She was already starting to move forward as if to greet him.

But the icy look that Obsidian gave her stopped her short.

There was no recognition in his burning gaze. He glared viciously at her as he lashed up and grabbed a hold of one of his blades on his back. His reaction was enough to make Nemesis Strika just stop, knowing that if she approached him, he'd have no problem attacking her. Even if she was his Sparkmate.

As for the last arrival, the one in the back, he was one that none of the Decepticons had never seen before. He was just as large as Megatron was and even meaner looking. He was more skeletal looking with sharp blades surrounded his long face almost like some kind of headdress. He did not have very much armor on his form, though somehow, the Decepticons didn't think he would need any. In his sharp pointed claws, he carried some kind of long staff, which clanged loudly as he walked up the ramp in the very middle of the new arrivals. The other five had parted to let him go ahead, where Megatron swiftly moved forward to greet him. It surprised all of the other Decepticons when he swept down to his knee, as if worshiping this strange new being. There was an aura of powerful energy radiating right off of him and it didn't seem pleasant one bit.

Even Starscream and the Decepticons had to shudder at the very sight of this new being. They knew that this was one they did not want to cross. Not for one second.

"Master," Megatron practically purred as he bowed down to the superior Transformer. He even bowed his head down very low, almost touching the metal floor. "I live to only serve you and the God of Darkness."

"Arise, my disciple." The clearly ancient Cybertronian spoke. His voice was no doubt very old and quite rusty as if he had not spoke in a million years. The very sound of it sent chilling tremors through Starscream's very wings. "You have done well, my son. But there is still much to do and very little time to do it. The Master God will not last much longer if we do not get him Energon soon."

Megatron just nodded as he stood up with swiftness that even impressed Starscream. But instead of replying to the so called Ancient Master, he turned and smirked around at all of the surprised Decepticons under his command. "Decepticons, why look surprised? Did you not even see this coming?" He asked in dark humor.

"You know very well why we're surprised, oh Faithless Leader." Starscream growled, eyeing Cyclonus and Scourge with discontent. He let his burning glare flicker over to Megatron, glaring at him for not even giving them a warning that this was going to happen. He was not happy to see any of the Minicons and he could very well see that each and every one of them, but the Ancient One was wearing the orange insignia of Unicron. "What is the meaning of this, Lord Megatron? Why are they here?" He asked, jabbing a sharp finger towards Cyclonus and Scourge, who both smirked evilly at him.

Megatron turned his burning gaze onto his Second in Command and growled as if offended by his mere questioning. He stomped closer to the Seeker, who tensed up, looking at him in alarm and did his best to cringe away from the Decepticon Leader. But he did not manage to escape from Megatron's grasp as he lashed out and grabbed a hold of his neck, yanking him forward again. "You dare to question me, Starscream?"

"No, my Lord! I….I…am ju-just wond….!" Starscream yelped in pain and fear from Megatron's wraith.

"My Lord, Megatron," The Decepticon Communications Officer spoke up, coming to Starscream's rescue by gathering Megatron's attention. "I'm afraid I do have to agree with Starscream in this case. We all are wondering why the Minicons are here. We were under the impression that they were our enemies."

Megatron growled as he shoved Starscream away from him against the wall with a loud bang before turning to glare at Soundwave next. He did not move to reprimand the large Decepticon like he had with Starscream. He just sneered before motioning to all of the Minicons standing in the hangar door ways. "This is our new army, Decepticons. We have lost many battles to the Autobots and it is time to make a change in that. Even if it means turning into Minicons ourselves. As most of you already know Scourge, Cyclonus and the others, you do not know the true master of the Decepticons." He looked almost humbly at the Ancient One. "All me to introduce the true Founder of the Decepticons, who has created all of us. The Fallen."

The Ancient One, The Fallen just held up his head as if he was someone of the greatest importance before he flicked his burning eyes to Megatron. "Enough of the charades, my Disciple. It's time to reveal who you really are and what our intentions will be." He croaked.

The Decepticon Leader just nodded before looking around at the still gaping Decepticons. He could only smirk coldly to see how alarmed they looked about who the Ancient One was. He knew very well that they didn't know much about The Fallen but they knew enough that he was one of the Thirteen Primes of Old. "Decepticons, I am no longer to be called Megatron. When Starscream used his device on Cataclysm to revive me, I did not come back as the former Decepticon Leader." He said in a sneering tone. "I am the new Leader of the Decepticons and General of the Minicons, much like General Obsidian is. I am Galvatron."

A few of the Decepticons could only murmur in surprise and look at one another. They weren't too sure what they should say or do about this. Starscream, however, pulled himself to his feet, narrowing his eyes at the so called Galvatron. But he chose wisely to not speak just yet.

"The new objective of the Decepticon/Minicon Army is simple. We will destroy the Autobots, empty this wretched Planet of all of its Energon and give it to our Master, Lord Unicron. He is approaching this pathetic Planet in dark slumber and he will lead us into a new age." The new Decepticon Leader, Galvatron remarked with dark determination. "The Decepticons will now serve Master Unicron in dividing Energon from Planets, no matter there being life on them! With Master Unicron to lead us, we will rule the entire Universe! And we will destroy any that gets in our way!"

Only a few Decepticons chose to cheer to Galvatron's speech. They were either agreeing with him or too afraid to disagree with him.

But Starscream was not. He made a grinding growl before thrusting a finger directly at the so called Galvatron. "You are not Megatron!" He snarled.

Everyone went quiet just as Galvatron turned a burning glare onto the Leader of the Seekers. He was giving Starscream a look of dark warning that if he did not cease to speak, there would be some serious consequences. "I just said that I wasn't, you pitiful, incompetent, sniveling worm!" He warned viciously.

Shaking his head, Starscream looked around at all of the other Decepticons. He kept his finger pointing at the new form of the Decepticon leader. "Decepticons! For nearly two millennia, we have followed Lord Megatron without questioning! We have destroyed many of those miserable Autobots and defied the very existence of Master Unicron! We all knew what Unicron was capable of! And we all knew that the true Megatron would never serve the Planet Destroyer ever again because of what he stood for!" he growled. "Our world, Cybertron is out there, dying because of what Unicron was doing to it! He was the reason behind this blasted war! He was the one sucking the life out of Cybertron! And now," He shot a furious looking Galvatron the darkest look he could manage. "He's saying we need to gather Energon for the one responsible for our World dying! I've heard enough! I am done following him! My sole purpose was to bring life back to Cybertron and now Megatron is no longer who he really is! He is DEAD! We were only to serve Megatron and bring Energon back to Cybertron! Not to Unicron!" he jabbed a finger towards his own self next. "And since Megatron is gone for good, that makes me the Decepticon Leader! Not Galvatron!"

"You try my patience, Starscream." Galvatron spoke in a furious, deadly tone. He was already starting towards his defying Second In Command.

But this time, for the first time for a very long time, Starscream stood his ground and stomped forward only a step to meet Galvatron's challenge. "No, Galvatron! You try my patience! I will not serve the One who killed our Planet for his own greed! And if any of the Decepticons are smart, nor will they! I will not be a slave to Unicron!" He snarled.

Snarling in rage, Galvatron started forward to attack Starscream.

But before he could, there was a vibrating rumble from all around the main hangar before an energy wave exploded from right behind him. The wave stopped the new Decepticon Leader short all the while shoving hard against Starscream and pressing him painfully tight against the Nemesis' metal wall. The pressure applied to the Seeker was enough to make his eyes flicker and scream in pain. Every one of the Decepticons stared in shock and alarm before they whirled their heads around to see that the long staff belonging to The Fallen was vibrating violently. The end of it was glowing with a vicious flame red light, providing as the source of the power.

"Insignificant idiot," The Fallen hissed, glaring directly at Starscream. "How dare you speak ill of your creator and my Master? You dare defy Master Unicron?"

Starscream grunted in pain as another wave of energy slammed into him, causing him to create a dent in the Nemesis' hull. He could barely move because whatever power The Fallen was using against him. But he did his best to turn his glare onto the Ancient One. "I will not be a slave to that Planet Draining Pitspawn!" He did his best to snarl.

"Then you will die!" The Fallen hissed before he slammed his strange staff against the ground and the pressure ceased, letting Starscream slam to the ground. He looked at Galvatron and nodded. "Destroy him, my Disciple! He has cease to amuse me and he is no longer useful to our cause."

Galvatron nodded before he whirled around and roughly grabbed Starscream by the neck, who yelped in pain by how tight he was gripping him. "Your command is only my wish, My Master. I have been looking forward to this for a very long time, Starscream. Your incompetence to me will end!" He snarled before he lashed out a powerful foot and kicked the Seeker hard back into the wall, nearly smashing it in.

Starscream screamed in pain as some of his parts came loose. But he did his best to clamber back to his feet and yank his cannon arm up to defend himself.

However, Galvatron was upon him again, grabbing him by his wing and roughly throwing him across the room. Decepticons scampered backwards to avoid being in the fight while watching with unease or excitement. Some of them were looking forward to seeing Starscream dismantled. And violently.

But Starscream's aerial brothers; Thundercracker and Skywarp were not one of them.

Both of the Seekers gathered courage to leap in Galvatron's path, blocking him from Starscream while aiming their blast cannons at him. They glared with unease yet determination to protect their aerial brother. "If you want to destroy Starscream, you will have to go through us to get him!" Thundercracker snarled, his blast cannons starting to whirl to life.

Galvatron snarled at them and rose a claw to swipe them aside but it came to a surprise that someone else intervened. A glowing tentacle shot forward and wrapped around his raised arm, yanking him off balance. Galvatron and many heads whirled around to see that Soundwave was the one responsible for the intervention. "Soundwave, what are you doing?" The so called Decepticon Leader demanded.

Soundwave just shook his head while he opened his chest hatches, letting his subordinates; Ravage, Rumble, Buzzsaw and Laserbeak jump out, who quickly followed his league by preparing for a fight. "I serve only Lord Megatron." The Communications Officer spoke rumbled quietly, his many tentacles waving all around him in a threatening manner. "You are no longer Lord Megatron. Your processor and purpose has been warped by Master Unicron. You have forgotten what Unicron has done to you and hundreds of Decepticons just to destroy the life of Cybertron." He shook his head again while all of his animalistic subordinates snarled and readied their selves. "Starscream was the Second In Command of the Decepticons. When Megatron perished by a mere human, Starscream became the Leader of the Decepticons. I serve him now."

"If you choose to defy me," Galvatron snarled at the Communications Officer. "I will destroy you!"

"Then you're going to have destroy us too." Barricade spoke up rather darkly as he went straight over to stand with the two Seekers. He was joined by his team; Groundhog, Roller Force and Motorhead, who all would stand by his side no matter what he chose to do.

Galvatron glared at all of them for defying him and The Fallen. He was not happy in the least that all of these Decepticons were standing for that coward piece of Pitspawn over him. The Leader of the Decepticons! "If you all choose to defy me, I will have all of you turned into scrap metal!" He looked around, glaring at the rest of the Decepticons, who cringed back, afraid to meet his wraith. "Any others who want to be dismantled?" He demanded.

None of the Decepticons spoke up. They were either too afraid to or they were agreeing with Galvatron.

Nodding sharply, the so called Leader of Decepticons turned his burning gaze back onto the Decepticon betrayers and balled up his fists, sneering at them. "Very well. Decepticons, we have betrayers amongst us. Destroy every last one of them!" He snarled.

Not daring to defy Galvatron, the rest of the Decepticons turned sharply towards the group of 'betrayers' and readied their weapons. Each and every Decepticon defending Starscream snapped up their own weapons to defend their selves. Thundercracker quickly reached over and grabbed Starscream's arm, pulling him to his feet. "Starscream, you're our new Leader! What's the orders?" He asked, looking at his aerial brother.

Starscream glared directly at Galvatron and jabbed a finger towards him. "Destroy Galvatron and any who gets into our way! He is no longer Megatron! And I've been wanting to destroy him for a long time! So I won't have a problem with dismantling him! Decepticons, attack!"

"Minicons," The Ancient Cybertronian, The Fallen spoke, jabbing his spear like staff at the defying Decepticons. "Attack and destroy them."

All at once, the Decepticons and Minicons lunged forward to attack Starscream, his Seekers and the rest of the Decepticons that were standing with him. They clashed against one another with a loud crash. Starscream went straight for Galvatron with the intent to destroy him. He and the 'Leader' of the Decepticons clashed against one another, throwing claws and trying to shoot one another.

The Minicons were quick to joining the Decepticons to attack Starscream and his newly formed team. Soundwave was smashing attacking former allies left and right, and his subordinates were just as fast as he was to attack. Hardly any of the Decepticons could even grasp Ravage, Laserbeak or Buzzsaw. Rumble was smashing the ground and knocking any Decepticons that tried to attack him off their feet.

Back to back, Thundercracker and Skywarp shot their former Decepticons, keeping them away from Starscream as he tried to take on Galvatron.

The battle between Decepticons did not last very long, even with the 'betrayers' fighting claws and cannons against their attackers. And especially when The Fallen decided to step in by raising his spear like staff and sending the 'betrayers' flying into the walls. It gave Galvatron the advantage by beating the living pit out of Starscream. He grabbed a hold of the flying Seeker and smashed him into the ground. He did not hesitate for one minute to start grabbing at his wings and attempting to rip them off. Starscream roared in pain before he lashed out his arm and shooting Galvatron in the face, knocking him backwards off him. He was on his feet quickly and moving to attack again.

But unfortunately for him, Galvatron was faster. He whirled around and grabbed a hold of Starscream's chest armor and yanked very hard, bending the metal frame. He didn't wait for the Seeker to roar in pain as he thrust his other claw into of Starscream's chest and attempt to grab his Spark Chamber. Once he had a hold of it, he began to pull very hard.

Screaming in pain, Starscream struggled to break away but with the damage that Galvatron was doing to him, he wasn't able to. His eyes flickered until they went dark. He'd been forced into stasis lock as the Leader of the Decepticons attempted to rip his spark from his chest.

"Slaggit! Starscream!" Thundercracker roared before shoving the Decepticon, Dirge off of him and rushed to his aerial brother's aid. He threw his weight right on top of Galvatron, forcing him to let go of Starscream. "Skywarp! Get Starscream out of here!" He yelled.

Skywarp jerked his head around from where he was battling with Cyclonus. He had to only glance at the Seeker Leader to realize that he was in more trouble than any one of the others were. Shoving with all of his might, the Seeker knocked Cyclonus away from him and raced to where Starscream had fallen. He grabbed a hold of the bent and warped wings before his red glaring eyes flashed as he started to blast right out of the air.

"My subordinates! To me!" Soundwave ordered as he threw all of his tentacles outward and knocked all of the attacking Decepticons off him. His creations spun head over tails to rush back to their creator and dive into the safety of his chassis. The Communications Officer quickly looked around at Barricade's Race Track team, who were having quite the time keeping the Minicons off of them. "Decepticons! Retreat! We cannot win this fight! Come to me!" He ordered.

Barricade and the Race Track Team jerked around before realizing that he had a point. They were beyond out numbered and with The Fallen being the most dangerous of the lot, other than Galvatron, they would sorely lose this battle. "Groundhog, Motorhead, Roller Force! Retreat!" The Decepticon police cruiser yelled as he dashed towards Soundwave, just as a powerful wave of energy began to consume him.

Groundhog was quick to following after him but Motorhead and Roller Force were not so lucky. They were quickly blocked off by Obsidian and Blackarachnia. They looked wildly after Barricade as he realized that they were blocked off and was starting to turn around to go help them.

"Run, 'Cade! Don't worry about us! We'll hold them off!" Motorhead yelled as he dove right at Obsidian, his cannon ready to shoot his head right off his shoulders.

"NO!" Nemesis Strika suddenly screamed, diving into the path. She might not have liked the idea that Obsidian seemed so different from what she was used to but she didn't want to see him get hurt. She would defend him as much as she could. She had lost him once but she wasn't ready to lose him again.

However, Obsidian didn't seem to care for her loyalty to him. He snarled before lashing out and slashing her across the back with his chopper blades. He didn't care for the scream of pain that emitted from her. He just lashed out with his open claws and grabbed her. With enough strength, he spun around and threw her hard away from between him and the remaining Race Track team members.

Nemesis Strika crashed directly into Barricade and Groundhog, sending them flying right into Soundwave just as a powerful gust of wind kicked up within the Decepticons' ship. An inhuman cyclone of wind began to swirl all around Soundwave and the Decepticons before there was a flash of blinding white light. And like a vacuum, all of the fleeing Decepticons and Nemesis Strika were sucked right up into the Space Bridge that Soundwave had used most of his strength to open, leaving Thundercracker still fighting with Galvatron and losing. And leaving Motorhead and Roller Force getting buried by Obsidian, Cyclonus and Blackarachnia.

They honestly did not even have a chance as they were being ripped apart by their former allies and the Minicons.


	13. Running For Life

Being on the run as a fugitive was never easy. Especially when the people doing the chasing were former employers and employees who wanted to kill the ones who were doing the running away.

And for what?

Saving the life of an innocent teenage boy and his big, bad and red robot best friend?

Oh, this was so not worth it.

Sleeping on ratty mattresses of run down motels and apartments, eating out of grimy cafes that should have been shut down by the Health Department a long time ago so they wouldn't attract attention was not what Cole Keller and Sean McCourie had in mind when they saved Rex Rory's life and that big red alien robot, Ultra Magnus. They knew that they would have been chased but not like this. They were being chased by their former bosses and former fellow Department Agents all because they had grown a conscience. They knew that they would need to keep at least two steps ahead from the D-Agents that were chasing them or they would die. Leaving the Department was not an option for any of the Agents. It was a do or die situation. And both of them had chosen not to do.

Now they were going to die.

But both Cole and Sean had made up their minds that it was time to change. They had known for a long time that things with the Department were going sour. They were secretly kidnapping and killing people, sneaking around the shadows like rats and believing that everyone was an enemy to them. Especially when the enemy was trying to PROTECT the Planet and not destroy it just like the Department was saying about the alien robots.

But Cole and Sean had met some of the aliens. They hadn't spent too much time with them but they knew enough that they were not dangerous to humans. Or at least some of them weren't.

The Department had every single D-Agent believing that what they were doing was for a good cause. They had even convinced Cole that when she first was brought in. And she could never forget that day when she was introduced to the Department. It was because that was the day she first met Agent Sean.

And that was six years ago.

Colette Keller, who had always gone by the short version of her name; Cole, had been in the Special Ops Squad while in the US military, which was rare enough as it was. There were not that many women who were Special Ops and were doing such dangerous missions as Cole did. She was one of the few soldiers who went onto the battle field before the fight began. She could sneak around the shadows without detection and easily kill targets so to open up a path for the US soldiers to go on in and do their jobs. She had never enjoyed killing people but it was war. And with war, there was always blood on someone's hands. Even if they didn't like it or not. That was one reason why she had become so emotionless over the years. It was why she could do dangerous missions without even questioning why.

When the strange Department had approached her, it was right after she had finished a dangerous mission in Afganistan. She had gone into the battle field to assassinate a Taliban leader and she did her job quite efficiently.

But only one could imagine what went through her head when she arrived to her barracks to find a man in a dark blue suit waiting for her, sitting directly on her bed with his legs crossed as he twiddled his fingers.

Being a woman arriving in her room when men were not allowed in the female barracks, Cole tensed up and glared viciously at the man, ignoring the friendly smile he'd just given her as he stood up. "What the hell are you doing in my room and who the hell are you?" She immediately demanded.

The man just smiled in a friendly way but did not move forward. He seemed to know what would have happened if he did. "Special Ops, Colette, on the behalf of my employers…" he was saying.

"Cole." The red haired beauty hissed at him, narrowing her eyes to dangerous slits. She ignored the curious look that the handsome and roguish looking man gave her as she balled up her fists and stomped forward until she was merely feet away from him. "My name is Cole. And you didn't answer my damn question. Who are you and what are you doing in my room?"

The man faintly smiled again before he cleared his throat and stepped back. He was more than likely hoping that Cole wouldn't punch him or anything. "My name is Agent Sean. I'm from a top secret Government facility that would like to recruit you into a bigger cause than the one you're serving now. Bigger than this bloody war that we, humans, have brought upon ourselves." He told her.

And that was the first time Cole ever met Sean.

After the introduction, Agent Sean told Cole about a little about the Department of Alien Weaponary Research. It was also known as Sector Three, a very top secret Government facility. He explained to her that not many knew of its existence and explained that the Department had been watching her for a number of years now. He told her that she was exactly what the Department wanted as an Agent. It was her amazing skills of hand-to-hand combat and weapon expertise that had caught the Department's eyes. Not to mention how smart she was and how she could think so quickly when she was in dire situations.

Then Agent Sean explained to her that the deal with the Department, though, was that no one could ever know that she would be a D-Agent. Not family or friends. No one in the Department could have ties to any friends or family. To be a D-Agent, she would have to fake her death and make all that she knew believe that she was dead.

And for a whole year, Cole had to think about what her choice would be. She had to choose to break ties with her family. She honestly didn't have a problem breaking ties with her father, John Keller. In her own opinion, ever since the suicide of her twin sister, Colleena, she and her father no longer had ties to one another.

Though, it wasn't like it was her father's fault that her sister committed suicide. He hadn't killed her. He hadn't forced her to pick up a gun and blow out the back of her head.

That was all Colleena Keller's fault, and Cole knew that.

The only reason why she did blame John Keller for Colleena's death was the fact that he just could not let go of his baby girls. He hated the idea that they were growing up and falling in love. He had wanted to keep them all to himself. He had refused to let Leena move on with her life and get married to the one man that she desperately loved so much. Reno Banes.

It wasn't like Cole didn't like Reno. No, actually, if she did admit it, she actually liked him a lot throughout high school. She treated him like crap due to the fact that she had a major crush on him just like Colleena had. But unlike her twin sister, Cole was not the kind to admit her feelings easily. She was the tough loving kind. She hated admitting her feelings to a guy. That was why she had such a hard time getting along with the guys in high school.

But the problem was, Reno Banes did not share her feelings and she knew that. He had fallen in love with her twin sister, Colleena. And that was why Cole hated his guts. It was because Colleena was the perfect girl. She was sweet, well liked, always perfect grades, always popular.

While she, on the other hand, Cole Keller was the trouble making, bad girl.

Yes, Cole did admit to herself, she was jealous of her identical twin sister. She would never admit it to anyone that she secretly loathed Colleena. But she also loved her to death. They were best friends. And if there was one thing that bothered her the most, it was Colleena getting hurt.

So when their father refused to give his blessing to Leena and Reno to wed, hurting his baby girl's feelings, Cole felt a dislike for her father. She wouldn't admit it first until a few years later. And she certainly felt a strong hate for Reno Banes when he called off the wedding when Colleena tried making the decision of letting go of her family. He had always told her that family was the most important thing to one person. Cole agreed with him there. But she did not agree with the fact that he simply gave up. He didn't fight for his love with Colleena. He just ran away like a coward. And that was why she hated him.

And during the years of Colleena's depression, Cole began to hate her father because he was too stubborn to just let her live her life the way she wanted to.

It was Colleena's suicide that was the last straw.

After Colleena took her own life, things turned very ugly for the Keller family. Cole began to fight with her father about what was done and there were a few times that John Keller mistaked her as her twin sister. To mistake his only living daughter as a dead daughter, that actually hurt too much for Cole. She knew that John Keller was constantly thinking about his dead little girl more than the one he still had. And it hurt. It was like he wanted Colleena more than Colette.

And that was why Cole Keller made the decision to fake her own death. She wanted to forget those painful memories of being called Colleena instead of Colette. She did not want to feel the grief and painful memories of her twin sister.

So after making the deal with the Department, learning about the alien robots that were found out by them, Cole faked her death and began to help prepare for a possible invasion.

For five years, she lived with only the name; Agent Cole. She never tolerated most of the other D-Agents, due to them mostly being men. They constantly hit on her and made remarks to her and she taught them a lesson of why not to do that. She surpassed many of the senior Agents, becoming one of the best on the field. She was a swift fighter, she had quick thinking and she could be very vicious to an enemy. And she did not take crap from no one. She'd beaten countless of over confident, extremely cocky D-Agents senseless and hardly ever lost a fight.

The only D-Agent she tolerated was the one who recruited her; Agent Sean. He was the only one she could stand being around.

And now, five years of partnership, they defied their orders and saved the lives of a teenage boy who knew too much and his giant alien robot buddy. They were now being chased by the Department, threatened of their very lives for their decision. To the Department, there was no excuse for defying orders. Not even to spare the life of a minor. They would be hunted down and 'Retired' before they could expose the true threat of the world and shed light on what they knew of the dangerous people hiding in the shadows.

So for months since they turned against the Department, Cole and Sean ran from city to city; town to town, running for their very lives.

There had been plenty of close calls with D-Agents, of course. The D-Agents were the best of the best after all and they were well trained on how to track down people. It was almost impossible to hide from them. But after five years of working with them, Cole knew the D-Agents' moves and knew what to assume might happen. Sean knew even more since he'd been in the Department for nearly seven years; two years before she joined. So they knew what to expect.

Until three months before Cole was found by the Autobots and the NEST Soldiers; Sean and her luck ran out dry.

It was in New York City, where Cole and Sean decided to hide amongst the millions of people. They were staying in a rundown one room apartment that should have been condemned. There were constant problems with their apartment that they were staying in for a little while until they thought of something else. The walls were constantly cracked, the windows leaked. The walls were so thin that they were pretty much just plaster and thin wood. There was even mold growing on the walls and ceiling.

But at least it was a low place to hide in.

With the stressing of constant running, Cole was a very bitter person. She did not always mean to snap at Sean when he made snarky comments and was being his cheerful self in their dire situation. She knew that he was doing it to keep her sane. Or somewhat sane. He was only trying to cheer her up. And she had noticed that he never snapped back at her. He took her bitter comments and nearly biting his head off quietly with a faint smile.

And for it, she was starting to feel bad.

It was nighttime when everything went sour. There had been a light rain outside so the window was leaking a little from dripping rain. Cole was sitting on the ratty bed, staring out the window while Sean was attempting to get a black and white television set to work so they could keep an eye on the news. They knew that there must have been something going on with the alien robots. There had been some reports but not much.

But the thing that bothered Cole the most was the thought that they were starting to run out of places to hide from the Department.

"Sean." Cole spoke quietly as she stared out the window, getting his attention.

Sean quickly forgot about the old TV and went over to her, crouching down in front of her. He could see how troubled she looked and he hated it when she looked like that. "Cole, are you okay? Are you hungry?" He asked her with worry.

Shaking her head, Cole just sighed and turned her eyes onto him. She knew that she was starting to get very tired of running. And she knew that Sean was too. He had to be tired of running away. "What are we doing, Sean? Why are we running away?" She asked quietly.

Squinting his eyes, Sean shook his head. He wasn't too sure what she was talking about. He knew that she knew why they were running. "Because people are trying to kill us, Cole. Why else would we run away?" he asked her, giving her his roguish side ways smile.

"They're going to find us, Sean. They have the resources to do it. They are going to use them to get us." Cole said, with only slight weariness.

Narrowing his eyes at her, Sean shook his head. He couldn't honestly believe that she was talking like that. She was the fierce one. She was the warrior. He was just the jester, really. "Cole, they're not going to find us. We know what they can do. Yeah, they're really resourceful. But so are we. We can easily evade them." He told her.

"But what if we can't, Sean? Are we seriously going to run for the rest of our lives?" Cole asked with a little edge.

For a long time, neither one spoke. They just stared right into each other's eyes. But Sean knew that she did have a point. He knew she was tired of constant running and hiding. She was the warrior, after all. She wanted to fight. Even though she knew how dangerous it would be. It would almost be suicide to take on the Department as only two people.

But, Sean thought to himself, what if we had help?

"There is one option, Cole. And I know you're not going to like it. But it's the only one that I can think of right at this point." Sean said quietly before he sighed. "The kid and his big robot buddies. They are the only option. The Department is probably looking for Rex Rory just like they're looking for us. But he's not going to be an easy target. He's surrounded by robots that can protect him. But he's still in danger." He then lightly clapped a hand against the somewhat dusty, raggy mattress. "So, we go find the kid and his robots."

Cole made a face, proving that she didn't like that idea at all. She knew that going to the alien robots was also meaning going to her father. She would be running right back to the man she faked her death to hide from. And she knew that was going to be a mess. "The alien robots? Are you kidding me?" She asked bitterly.

Sean shook his head as he gave her a weary look. "Cole, it's either them or it's keep running. With us running out of places to hide in, I think I'd rather face the robots." He remarked.

Biting her lip, Cole tilted her head as if she could consider it. She didn't have to like it. But she figured that she'd rather face the so called enemy of the Department. 'The enemy of the enemy is thy friend.' She thought to herself. "Okay." She breathed slowly. "Say we do go to the aliens? What then? Do you not remember what we did to one of them? What we were trying to do?"

Shrugging and nodding, Sean knew what she was talking about. He knew that one reason that Cole didn't want to go to the aliens was because of her father. She was practically walking right up to the Secretary of Defense and saying, "Hi, Dad! Guess what? I'm not dead! Funny, isn't it?" That would be extremely hard to do. The other reason he knew that Cole was hesitant about was the fact that they had helped harm one of the alien robots. They had done serious bad things to people in general. There was a very good chance that his idea was going to blow up right in their faces.

But the alien robots were the only hope that Sean had to keeping Cole safe. And he would give his very life to protect her.

After five years of knowing her, he had grown strong feelings for her. He knew that she would never accept him. And romantic partnerships between Agents were highly frowned upon in the Department. But they were no longer in the Department. Still, he'd fallen way too hard for Cole Keller. To him, she was the most beautiful person, too stubborn, too fierce. She was a fire he wanted to hold but knew he would get burned badly by it.

There was still no doubt in his mind that Sean would die for Cole Keller.

"Cole," Sean began carefully looking into her eyes. He slowly lift one hand and reached for hers. He hesitated when she frowned at him but he still reached out and carefully took hers into his. So far so good, though. She wasn't attempting to snap his hand off at the wrist. "Cole, there is that big, red guy, Ultra Magnus. We saved his little friend. And we saved his life. He returned the debt by helping you save me. But I still get the feeling that he would do more than that. I think he and the alien robots would help us if we just ASKED them to. I feel like we can trust them. They can help us take down the Department. It's time to stop running and start fighting back. Cole," he breathed again softly. He gently tightened his grip around her hand. "You probably don't know this or even care, but you mean so much to me. After five years of being your partner, I've grown close to you. You probably don't care how I feel about you, but I do. And I will fight until every last breath in my body is gone to protect you. And I don't care if you don't feel the same. I will do it no matter what." He told her.

Cole stared at Sean with wide eyes. She couldn't believe he was even saying this. Even after he KNEW how much she hated men. Even after all she had treated him like crap. Even after he knew that she didn't believe in such emotions like compassion or love. He was still admitting that he had strong feelings for her and would do anything to protect her. He didn't care how much she loathed the male population she usually dealt with.

"You…" Cole pretty much growled at him, narrowing her eyes at him as she tightened her hand around his. "You are so fucking stupid!"

Smiling faintly, Sean just shrugged and nodded at the same time as he rose up a little, bending over her. "I know. But I'm stupid for you, Cole Keller." He told her before he bent towards her and kissed her.

Startled with the kiss, Cole could only sit there for a moment before she growled from deep within. She ripped her hand out of his before she roughly grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him closer. She hated him so much for kissing her. But right now, she felt a burning flame in her explode with need. She realized that she needed him a lot more than she wanted him. She began to realize that he was forcing her heart to open up to him.

And somehow, Sean realized that.

With the emotions running strong, Sean and Cole kissed each other fiercely as they fell onto the bed, hands roaming. They found their selves breathing rapidly as they let their feelings take over. They both knew that this was something that they couldn't fight. And they found that they didn't want to fight it. They needed each other more than they knew.

And that's when all Hell broke loose.

With Sean and Cole starting to tug at each other's clothes, they were suddenly wrenched away from one another as the window in their apartment exploded inward, sending glass shards all over the floor. Both gasped and looked at the window just as a flying can of gas was tossed inside the room.

"Shit!" Cole gasped before she and Sean quickly rolled off the bed and onto the floor to keep low. The smoky gray gas emitting from the nozzle of the can was making it very hard to breath. "It's them!"

Sean swore between choking coughs as he and Cole covered their mouths with their shirts. He grabbed a hold of her hand and crawled to the window to look out of. They needed fresh air, away from the choking gas. He slowly peered outside to see if there was anyone out there, so that they could escape.

But suddenly, after seeing a spark just across the road, he had to yank his head back in just as a burning piece of metal scraped his cheek, slicing it open. He swore again as he used his other hand to clap against the new gash in his cheek as he ducked low with Cole. "Snipers! The windows a no go!" He quickly said to Cole. He quickly lead her across the floor to the door, with the hopes that they could get out that way.

Using his free hand, Sean reached up and unlocked the door before opening it.

And then slamming it shut again when he saw the D-Agents waiting just down the hall.

"Dammit!" Sean swore again as he quickly locked it and then slammed his back against the wall with Cole just as sniper bullets slammed into the door where he'd been. They were quickly running out of options. Both of them were trapped with only two exits out of the room. And both were blocked off. "We're are so screwed!"

Cole swallowed hard, coughing from the gas that was filling the room. She quickly looked around, trying to find any other way to escaping. She had to quickly search her memory for any possible exit. She knew that the window was being watched by snipers and the door was now being banged on by the D-Agents just outside, trying to break in. She knew they were in so much trouble.

Quickly looking around, Cole looked from the window to the door then to the opposite wall across from them. It was horrible cracked and covered in mold. She frowned as she felt a spark of an idea run across her mind. She recalled that they were on the second floor of the apartment and people usually hung their laundry to dry between the buildings. And she knew that it would not be very hard to breaking that wall because of how worn down it already was.

"Okay!" Cole shouted over the bangs at the door, which was already starting to give out. She yanked her hand out of Sean's and began grabbing at the mattress. "Sean, help me here!" She yelled as she yanked the mattress off the bed before picking up the bed frame and shoving it against the window.

Frowning, Sean quickly stood up and helped her as she began grabbing at the ratty mattress. He flinched only once when the snipers outside attempted to shoot them, only to have their bullet richochet off the metal bed frame. It wouldn't last too long though. "Cole! What do you have in mind? And let's please hurry it up!" he yelled over the loud bangs.

Cole shook her head as she grabbed one side of the mattress as he grabbed the other. She turned and faced the moldy wall before looking at him. "Run as hard as you can at the wall and use all of your strength to break it!" She shouted at him.

Shooting her a wide eyed look, Sean wasn't sure if he heard her right. He was wondering if she wasn't letting shock of what was happening get to her brain. "What?" He gasped.

"NOW!" Cole screamed at him as she began to run.

Swearing loudly, Sean ran with her and threw all of his weight against the mattress and the wall as hard as he could. He really didn't believe this was going to work at all. And if it did, it was seriously going to hurt really bad.

There was a loud crash as the lousy wall caved in under their weight and they went sailing right out of the building in the drizzle that was outside. Sean couldn't stop the cry of alarm that escaped from him as he and Cole fell with the mattress. They felt jerks as they must have fell on some laundry lines but at least it slowed the two story fall until they came crashing right on top of a car, making the alarm go off loudly. The air was knocked from their lungs as they were thrown right off the roof. Sean fell onto the wet pavement first before having Cole land right on top of him, knocking the last bit of his air out of his body. He gasped and choked for it back but he didn't have too much time as she had grabbed his hand and yanked him to his feet.

"Run!" Cole yelled as she pulled him after her.

Together, the two former D-Agents ran as fast as they could away from the building, even as sniper bullets bounced off the road right behind them. They dove around the alley wall onto an empty street but didn't stop there.

From behind them, Sean and Cole heard shouts before they heard light pops and whistles. It wasn't hard to realize that the Department Agents had silencers on their guns and they were shooting at them.

With legs pumping, the two ran as far as they could. They knew that if they stopped, they would get caught. It wasn't hard to pick up the pounding foot steps behind them to realize that they were being chased. They knew they couldn't stop.

Suddenly, Sean cried out from behind Cole, making her head spin with alarm to see that he was starting to stumble. She felt his hand jerk out of hers, making her quickly stop. But Sean quickly recovered and snatched her hand again as he started running again. She could barely make out the twist of pain on his face as he kept running. She knew something was wrong.

With a quick sweep of her eyes, Cole looked him over as she ran beside him before she saw a red wet stain on his dark blue shirt. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she jerked him around an alley and dove further in so that they could hide from the chasing D-Agents. It wouldn't be long before they would find them so she kept herself and Sean running until they ran around a corner. Only then when they were hidden did she stop. She was panting hard as she whirled around and jerked Sean to turn so she could see where he'd been shot. It was on the small of his back.

"Sean!" The red haired beauty gasped now grabbing at his shirt and trying to pull it up so she could see the wound.

But Sean quickly shook his head and pushed her hands away. "Don't worry about it, Cole!" He panted painfully. He quickly looked around the corner of the alley to see D-Agents run past it. They hadn't seem to know where the two fugitives had gone. "Okay, we need to get out of here! Let's get back to the car and book it out of this place!" He suggested, grabbing her hand with his.

Shaking her head, Cole stared at him with worry. She knew that he was hurt really bad. He'd been shot while running with her. "Sean, you're hurt! We need to get you to the hospital!" She told him.

Turning his gaze back to her, Sean shook his head as he used his free hand to press against the wound as tight as he could. "We can't go to the hospital, Cole! They will be watching it and waiting for us to go there! We'll just have to deal with it on our own once we get out of this place! Come on!" He told her before tugging her back down the alley towards the road. He looked cautiously around the corner, down the street to see that the Department Agents were looking down the alleys, their backs turned to them.

Frowning, Sean looked back the other way towards the apartment complex that they had been staying in. The black rental car that he and Cole had been using was still parked in the front. "Okay, we'll book it towards the car in three seconds." He told her. Cole didn't like this. She knew that this was risking way too much. Sean was hurt bad and she knew it. She could see the blood running down from his wound, staining his quite wet shirt. She knew she needed to get him some help and fast. "Okay! Let's go!"

But Cole yanked him back just as D-Agents came out of the apartment. She pulled Sean backwards away from the road, hoping that they hadn't been seen.

"Cole, what….." Sean was saying.

Shaking her head, Cole grabbed his hand tightly and began pulling him back into the alley, looking for another way. "There were D-Agents out there, you idiot!" She hissed at him. "We can't go to the car! We'll just have to steal another one! Let's go!"

And they began running again.

Shoes slapped against the wet pavement, running in the dark alleys from the danger that they knew was behind them. Cole knew that the D-Agents were behind them. She knew that they were probably following the trail of blood that was spilling right out of Sean's back. She needed to get him somewhere safe so that she could patch up the wound.

After nearly an hour of running down the alleys of New York, Cole knew that she was running out of time. Sean was going to bleed to death if she didn't take care of the wound very soon. She was now practically dragging him after her. It wasn't easy at all. He was a lot heavier than she was and They were coming fast. She could still hear them running down the streets, looking for them.

And they were getting closer.

Taking a deep breath, Cole shifted her arm right under Sean's arms, drawing him closer to her as they picked up their pace. She could feel his warm blood now starting to stain her black shirt and black jeans. The rain was coming down harder now, making it awfully cold for them. Her red hair was starting to stick to her neck and face, making her have to toss it back several times to keep her bangs out of her eyes.

"Come on, Sean! Just hold on!" Cole told him between weary pants. They were quickly approaching another New York empty street where a car was parked at the end of the alley. She knew it would have to be that one to steal and get Sean to safety.

Groaning next to her, Sean clutched at his burning wound. He was having a harder time getting his legs to move now. More or less, his vision was starting to get a little blurry. He secretly knew that he wasn't going to be able to keep this up. He didn't tell Cole but only a few times since they began running and he got shot, his vision had blacked out on him once or twice.

Suddenly, his foot caught something underfoot and he went crashing to the ground, nearly dragging Cole after him. He cried out in pain while she yelped in surprise. He cursed violently as his forehead banged against the littered ground. "Ow." Was the only word that came to mind.

"Sean!" Cole cried out as she swooped down next to him. She began grabbing at his arm and trying to get him to stand again. But his legs wouldn't work. "Get up, Sean! We have to keep running! We're almost there!"

Breathing very hard, Sean shook his head as he pushed himself to sitting up. He was having a hard time keeping himself propped up with his free arm. "Co-Cole….." He hissed breathlessly and in pain. He shifted closer to the alley wall with her help and leaned against it. He swore again as he glanced down at the growing puddle of blood and rain water from under him. "Cole, you have t-to leave me. I'm in no condition to run any more. You've got to…..you've got to go without me." He breathed painfully.

Cole shook her head, looking wide eyed at him. "No! I won't leave you behind! Now get up!" She screamed at him, trying to drag him to his feet.

Again, Sean shook his head before looking around. He could hear the approaching shouts now. It would not be long before the D-Agents found them. Not with Cole screaming at him like that. He had to get her to go. He grimaced in pain before looking at the car at the end of the alley. He pointed at it. "Go…..go get the car. Then come back for me." He told her.

Cole stared at him before she whirled around and looked at the car. She knew that was the only option, though she didn't know what he really had in mind. She nodded and quickly stood up. "Don't move, Sean! I'll be right back!" She called over her shoulder. She ran as fast as she could down the alley to where the car sat. She knew it was going to be locked. Everyone locked their cars in New York City. It wouldn't' stop her from grabbing a pipe just lying on the alley floor and smash the window open. She quickly unlocked the door and dove towards the driver's side, looking frantically for the keys.

When she didn't find them, Cole reached under the steering wheel and ripped the covering off. She grabbed for the wires and started to jump start it.

"Hey! There they are!"

Cole jerked around with wide eyes just as she crossed the wires together and got the car to start. She felt her breath catch as she saw D-Agents in the alley where she'd left Sean. "NO!" She screamed when she saw her former partner staggering to his feet and turning to face the D-Agents. She quickly scampered out of the car and started to run back.

Sean must have heard her because he whirled around and pointed at her. "No! Cole! Stop!" He yelled at her, causing her to skid to a halt. "Get the hell out of here! Just leave! I'll hold them off!"

Shaking her head, Cole looked painfully at him. She didn't want to leave him. She couldn't leave him. She refused to. "No…." She breathed painfully.

"Get the heck out of here, Cole! Find the kid! Find those robots!" Sean yelled to her, even as the D-Agents were starting to run forward towards him and Cole. He whirled back around, snatching up a long pole leaning against the alley wall. He held it up and swung it at the D-Agents making them retreat backwards and point their guns at him. "GO!" He yelled again when Cole hadn't moved. "Just listen to me for once, Cole!"

Flinching a little from his words, Cole shook her head. She didn't want to leave Sean to face these Agents by himself. She even started forward to go help him. But the D-Agents didn't make it helpful in her case. Especially when the most familiar stepped past the others and raised a gun, aiming it right at Sean. "NO!" She screamed when she saw Freddricks.

Sneering in her direction, the D-Agent pulled the trigger.

Sean had just barely looked back to see his former Agent only to stumble backwards when the bullet slammed right into his shoulder, sending him reeling. He managed to catch himself with the pole before raising his eyes to glare at Freddricks. "You….son…of….a…..bit….." He stuttered over his pain filled words before he raised the pole and charged.

"Sean, no!" Cole gasped watching him. But Sean ignored her as he raced at Freddricks and swung the pole.

Startled, Freddricks had started to pull the trigger of his gun again but the pole connected with his face, sending him reeling. He staggered a few steps before Sean was upon him. Sean dropped the pole to the ground before using the last bit of his strength to wrestle the gun from the D-Agent and keep him in a headlock. He began using the gun as a club against Freddricks' head while the other Agents watched with alarm.

Still noticing Cole, Sean paused for only one moment to give her a fierce but urging look. "Go. Please." He whispered to her.

Cole didn't hear his words but she knew what he had said. She didn't want to go. She wanted to help him. But he was constantly telling her to just run. She felt as if her heart was going to break as she watched him start a fist fight with Freddricks and was losing his strength very fast. Freddricks was bigger than him and most likely stronger too.

But, instead, she was going to grant Sean his last wishes.

Spinning on her heel, Cole ran for the car, listening to Sean fighting with Freddricks. She didn't look back until she dove in the car, flinching a little when the D-Agents started shooting after her. She jumped into the driver's seat and looked to see Freddricks slam Sean into the wall as he yanked his gun out of his hand. Sean was slumped against the wall, keeping a bitter smile on his face as he clapped a hand over the wound on his shoulder. He didn't seem to have cared as he leapt back to his feet to charge at Freddricks again.

By that time, Cole slammed her foot on the gas and sped away, listening to that last gun shot fill the air. She knew it was done. She knew that Sean was gone.

And it took several minutes as she raced out of the city, away from all of that, to realize that there were tears staining her cheeks. She was crying for the first time in so many years. She had never cried since Colleena's funeral. And that was nearly ten years ago.

But now, she was crying for Sean's death as she left New York City, listening to the police sirens only moments after the gunfight.

A week later, Cole had arrived in Saratoga, Wyoming to see her mother.


	14. Uneasy Alliance

"Oh, Pit no!" Ratchet exclaimed as soon as he had seen the state that Starscream even was in. He could not believe how badly damaged the Seeker even was, and neither could any of the Autobots that were staring wide eyed at his bent and broken form.

It was very early in the morning when Barricade and Groundhog lead Optimus Prime and the Autobots to Texas, where they were hiding the other Decepticons. They were leaving from the Autobot-NEST base after dropping off Cole Keller, who was doing a lot of avoiding people and her father by staying in the room they had set up for her. She had explained to Ultra Magnus about what happened to Sean after he kept prying. She had refused at first but he wouldn't stop asking her what happened to her former partner and eventually she got fed up and just told him. He went very quiet after that.

As for the two Decepticons, however, they had decided to stay well away from the base to avoid attention from all of the Autobots still there. They were particular wanting to avoid a certain trigger happy Weapon Specialist and his just as trigger happy Sparkmate.

Optimus had made up his mind that he wanted to keep the knowledge of the two Decepticons quiet from everyone. He knew very well that if all of the Autobots and the NEST soldiers knew about them just outside the base, there would be trouble. He especially didn't want Ironhide, Inferno, Bluestreak and the twins to know what they were up to. He knew that they would be the hardest to convince to not attack Barricade and Groundhog.

So it was decided that only ten Autobots would be going with Barricade and Groundhog to see how badly damaged Starscream was.

Ratchet, of course, had to go. It was decided that Jolt would go with them to assist the Chief Medical Officer if he was needed. Elita One was going with them as well, since Optimus wasn't too good at hiding things from her in the first place. She pretty much just looked into their Sparkbond to know what was going on. Ultra Magnus was going as muscle, just in case something did happen. Prowl insisted on going with them, as did Jazz. Optimus decided that Jetfire was probably a good choice on going as well. He was former aerial brothers with Skywarp, whom Barricade stated that refused to leave Starscream's side. And for the last two, Optimus asked Mirage to join them. And seeing that Mirage never went anywhere without Blaster, they had ten Autobots to face ten Decepticons; even though Barricade and Groundhog insisted that Starscream wasn't doing a whole lot of moving.

Lennox, Epps, Vladimir Karpos and Nik Boyd were also going with them and the only two humans that were going. Reno had wanted to go but Optimus wouldn't let him, even if his injured arm wasn't that bad.

However, Optimus Prime did have to tell John Keller what they were up to. It was easy to say that the Sec Def wasn't happy about the Decepticons at all. But he did understand why Optimus and the Autobots were doing it. He understood why they had to keep it quiet too. Keller had wanted to go with them but Optimus explained that it might be too dangerous. They were going to deal with ten rather dangerous Decepticons, after all.

So Keller relented and stayed behind and make sure no one else found out what Optimus Prime and the other nine Autobots were up to.

They all knew very well that if anyone else found out about the Cons, there would be a lot of worried and uneasy Autobots and humans. So after dealing with Reno's grazed arm, they left the Autobot-NEST base to meet up with Barricade and Groundhog, who were both very anxious about getting back to the others. It was also very easy to say that all of the other Autobots besides Optimus, Magnus, and Jazz were uneasy. Elita One wasn't as uneasy as the others were, but she was worried.

They eventually had to speed to keep up with Barricade and Groundhog. The two Decepticons seemed to be in a real big hurry on getting back to the others.

As it was, the Autobots only spoke on their private channels to discuss what might happen when they did get to where the Decepticons were hiding. They were sure that this might be a trap for them so they would keep up their guard just in case that it was. They were not going to put down their guard for one moment while being around the Decepticons.

Of course, they sure changed their minds when they got to the old Oil Factory in a vacant open field.

Barricade had to go up ahead to alert Soundwave and the Decepticons about the Autobots. Just so that there weren't any accidents when they arrived. They wanted to avoid a fight as much as they could if it were possible.

Upon arrival, the Autobots scanned the entire area and detected only a few Decepticons in the vicinity of the area. So it seemed that Barricade and Ground had somewhat been telling the truth about how many Decepticons there were. Though they hadn't expected to find at least eleven Decepticons there. They immediately spotted the gleaming red eye belonging to Ravage as he prowled the shadows, watching them warily. On the roof of the building, Buzzsaw and Laserbeak were perched, looking like they were just doing the same. Both looked somewhat like metal birds. There was another one pacing back and forth in the shadows, making all of them a little uneasy to only see a gleaming red eye watching them. He had a sort of vicious raptor look about him and was built up thin as a metal sheet when he was looking directly at them. Only when he turned away from them, they could see his true form. They could barely see him where he was standing. Reedman, as Groundhog pointed that one out, was actually Ravage's partner but he was not well liked among all of Soundwave's subordinates and he did have his uses.

And just outside the doors of the large building, the towering form of Soundwave stood with his smaller counterpart, Rumble. They were clearly just guarding the doors. Barricade was with them in his large form, explaining to the large Communications Officer what the Autobots were doing there. And it didn't seem to appease Soundwave's smaller counterparts too well. But at least the Communications Officer was looking like he understood.

Either way, all of the Decepticons outside were tense and watching the Autobots with unease. None of them moved to attack but it was clear that they were ready to attack if the Autobots were there for a fight. The smaller animalistic Decepticons growled as the Autobots approached and transformed as soon as they let their human friends out. But Soundwave silenced them with a raise of his hand, shaking his head at them.

"Relax, idiots." Barricade growled at them, which they growled right back. "I wouldn't have brought them here if they meant to attack us."

Optimus Prime slowly took a few steps forward, stopping only when all of Soundwave's subordinates tensed up and growled at him. He just cautiously looked at them before turning his gaze onto the Communications Officer, who was nearly as big as he was. So he didn't need to look down to look the Decepticon in the eyes. "Barricade and Groundhog has told us of what happened to your team. He has requested that I had Ratchet take a look at Starscream and see if he can help. But I will only do it if you permit him to." He said calmly.

Soundwave gave the Prime a wary look before he carefully took a step to the side and used one of his tentacles to push the large sliding doors apart. Rumble hesitated before moving to the side with his master.

Nodding, Optimus glanced over his shoulder at the Autobot Chief Medical Officer, who returned the nod. He moved forward with Jolt right behind him.

"Careful." Soundwave suddenly warned Ratchet, who immediately stopped to look at him with a questioning look. The Decepticon just shook his head as he turned his eyes onto the doors of the building. "Skywarp won't leave Starscream's side. He's acting like an overprotective bodyguard." He let his eyes flicker over to Ultra Magnus, who was frowning at him. "You must be warned that Nemesis Strika is also here. I have her restrained. She is not particular happy about being here with us. She would prefer to have stayed with Galvatron. She is injured but she wouldn't let Groundhog take a look at her. It's not as serious as Starscream's damages."

Slowly Ratchet nodded and went into the building with Barricade leading the way. Jolt stayed right behind him, looking cautiously around as they entered. Behind them, Optimus kept an eye on Soundwave as he approached the building, who looked back at him. The two stared at one another for a moment before they both looked in after the two Medicbots and Barricade.

Of course, seeing a glaring Decepticon Seeker standing over the metal mess that was Starscream made everyone hesitate.

"Cool it, Skywarp. They're here to help." Barricade growled at him.

"We don't need the Autobots." Skywarp growled, his cannons snapping into place and aiming at Ratchet and Jolt, who did not pull out their own weapons but stared directly at him.

Soundwave made a metal grunt before he stepped further into the building, giving Skywarp a warning look. "Unfortunately, Skywarp, we do." He said in a warning tone. "Now move aside and let them see to Starscream. Or would you rather that he deactivated?"

Skywarp growled at him but then considered his words. He took a long moment to give Ratchet and Jolt a warning look before he deactivated his cannons and stepped aside to let them see Starscream.

"Oh, Pit no!" Ratchet suddenly cursed, making all tense up and nearly well yank their weapons out again. But then all of the Autobots saw Starscream.

"Oh, my!" Elita One gasped as she stood at Optimus' shoulder and looked in.

The state that Starscream was in was horrible enough to even look at. He looked more like a pile of scrap metal from an F-22 Raptor jet. His entire frame was twisted and warped and his wings looked like they were going to fall off any moment. The Seeker was on his back, though, revealing how badly damaged his chest armor was. It was ripped outward as if someone had took a hold of it and clawed it open. All of the Autobots and the four humans could see the brilliant blue spark from within the metal and they didn't have to be told that it was his spark chamber. Barricade hadn't been kidding when Starscream's Spark Chamber was only holding on by wires.

From the rips, gashes and twisted metal, everyone could make out glowing green and fiery red liquid dripping from the injuries. The Autobots knew very well that it was the very blood of their kind; Energon.

Now that they were seeing Starscream, they knew very well that he was in danger of losing his life.

"Primus!" Jazz yelped staring past Optimus and Elita with everyone else. He was just as alarmed as all of the Autobots to see how bad Starscream was. "Look at him! He's a mess!"

"Damn." Epps whistled, shaking his head. "That Galvatron dude sure let his fury out on him."

Ratchet cursed in Cybertronian before he quickly rose an arm and scanned Starscream's entire frame. He swore again before shooting Barricade a nasty reprimanding look who glared right back at him. "Barricade! You should have been a little more specific about Starscream's injuries! This is a lot worst than what you told me about! It's a miracle his Spark is still going! He should be rightfully deactivated right about now!"

Barricade just gave him a rather put out look before shrugging as if he had done nothing wrong in his entire life. "What, I'm not good with explaining things!" He remarked with a growl.

"Can you repair him?" Skywarp asked, now sounding worried.

Ratchet just glanced at him before he scanned Starscream again, taking in everything that was wrong with him. He frowned deeply at the state the Seeker was in but he nodded. "It's going to take a while. His injuries are very severe. His Sparkchamber is barely hanging in there by the wires and the Energon pipes are twisted and ripped. He's losing some Energon but once I get those replaced he should be all right. His wings will need replacing if he wishes to fly again. He won't be able to fly for a while until then." He shook his head, making a face. He looked over at Optimus, knowing that no one; not the Autobots or the Decepticons were going to like what he had to say. "Optimus, Starscream will not survive if he stays here. I need to get him back to my Medical Lab so I can get to work on him. I can patch him up for transport but…." He was saying.

"Oh, frag no!" Both Barricade and Skywarp snarled, glaring at the Autobot Medic. They knew very well what Ratchet was trying to say.

Giving them both a stern look, Ratchet shook his head before looking back at Starscream. "He will not survive staying here! If I don't move him to my Medical Lab, we will lose him! Do you want me to fix him or not?" He demanded.

"Why can't you do it here?" Skywarp demanded.

Again, Ratchet gave the Seeker a stern look. "Because I don't have all of my tools, that's why! Barricade wasn't exactly subtle about explaining Starscream's injuries! He just told me that he was in recharge! He didn't tell me that he was in stasis lock, on the brink of deactivating entirely!" He snapped at him, shooting the Decepticon Police Cruiser a dark look.

Barricade swore in Cybertronian and threw his claws up into the air. "Oh, so I'm the bad guy, huh? Well, excuse me!" He snarled.

"Enough, Barricade, Skywarp." Soundwave said firmly giving them both a look. He looked at Optimus who shared his glance before looking over at Ratchet. "If we allow you to move Starscream to your base, how do we know you won't deactivate him, yourself?"

Ratchet gave him a sour look. "Let me be frank with you, Soundwave. I may be an Autobot and I do not like Decepticons. And I certainly do not like Starscream. But above all, I AM a Medicbot. When it comes to severe injuries, I will do what it takes to save the one who is injured. Even if he is a Decepticon. You better give me more credit than you already are!" He ground out at him.

Optimus sighed before turning to Soundwave, getting his attention. "If it will ease your worries, you and the others are welcome to join us in taking Starscream back to our Base." He told him.

Of course, most of the Autobots didn't look too pleased about that and neither did any of the Decepticons.

Soundwave frowned at Optimus' offer but shook his head. "Will Starscream be safe there? I know that you and your Autobots are not fond of him because of what he has done in the past. You are not fond of our choices as we are not fond of yours." He said carefully.

Optimus Prime just nodded, knowing what he was talking about. He knew that most of the Autobots; if not all, would be happy to have Decepticons on the Base. He was sure that more than half of the Autobots and the NEST Soldiers would be happy. Lennox and Epps weren't looking happy right now. But it was Elita One who was smiling at him and nodding her approval as he turned back to Soundwave. "You all will be safe at the base as long as you swear not to harm any humans or any of my Autobots." He told all of the Decepticons.

Soundwave and the Decepticons didn't look particular happy to hear that offer and they surely didn't believe his words. But it looked like they were going to relent and try trusting the Autobots.

But before Soundwave could agree, Nemesis Strika decided to protest from where she was sitting in the shadows, glaring at Ultra Magnus.

"NO!" The large Decepticon femme screeched, surprising everyone. "We don't agree! We don't need your Autoscum's help! Let that idiot, Starscream die! We will never accept your help!"

Heads whirled around and found Nemesis Strika in the farthest corner of the building. She was sitting on the ground with chains wrapped around her arms, legs and chest, keeping her from transforming or using her weapons. She was glaring viciously at Ultra Magnus, who narrowed his eyes right back at her.

"Starscream should have never went up against Galvatron! He was stupid for standing up against him and The Fallen!" Nemesis Strika snarled.

That last name caught everyone's attention but it was Jetfire who sucked in a sharp breath before shoving past everyone and into the building. He gave her a narrow eyed, suspicious look. "The Fallen? Where did you hear that name?" He demanded.

"I don't have to answer to you, you back stabbing, Autobot loving traitor!" Nemesis Strika snarled at him.

Suddenly, one of Soundwave's tentacles whizzed right past Jetfire and slammed into the Decepticon femme's face to shut her up. He was glaring a warning at her but he knew that it was no use to hide anything from the Autobots. He gave Barricade a look next before looking at Optimus Prime. "What did Barricade tell you exactly of how we came to be here? Did he not explain everything to you?" He asked firmly.

Optimus shook his head while Barricade was grumbling again. "He didn't give us all of the details. He just said that Megatron claimed to be Galvatron now and he was willing to work for Unicron to put an end to us. He explained that Starscream and yourselves refused to join forces with the Minicons. So Galvatron decided to dispose of all of you." He told him.

"But nothing else?" Soundwave asked, giving a grumpy Barricade a look. "He didn't tell you who was there?"

"No." came Optimus' reply.

"Do I really have to explain every single detail?" Barricade growled with irritation.

"Yes!" Soundwave snapped, shooting the Decepticon a look who looked startled like the others did. "This is not only our problem, Barricade! You are the one who went running to the Autobots' help for Starscream's sake without letting me know what you were going to do! So, you wanted their help, so you should have given them the details!" He ignored them and looked back at Optimus Prime. "Before Galvatron turned on Starscream, he revealed new arrivals to us. There were six of them. Two of them you met only an Earth year ago. Scourge and Cyclonus."

All of the Autobots looked startled to hear about those two. They hadn't expected to hear of them for a long, long time.

"Are you kidding me? I thought they blew up with Cataclysm!" Epps swore.

Soundwave glanced at him before shaking his head and looking back at Optimus, who was looking gravely back at him. "They have returned. I can't tell you how but they have. You also know of some of the others. You have heard of Obsidian, General of the Decepticons, correct?" He asked.

All of the Autobots looked startled, though Ultra Magnus looked the most alarmed. That was not a name they expected to hear of for a while now. "Obsidian? He's here?" The Autobot Commander asked.

Soundwave just nodded as he merely glanced at him and then back at the Prime. "Obsidian is now a Minicon. I am fully aware that he was supposibly killed during the war on Cybertron, some time after you became Prime. Along with him, you must have heard of Blackarachnia."

Elita One was the one to gasp and cover her mouth in alarm. "Blackarachnia?" She asked softly.

"Along with the Legendary Seeker, Jetstorm." Soundwave continued ignoring the shock from Elita One. "The Fallen was only the last of the six."

Now, Jetfire looked alarmed. "Jetstorm? And The Fallen? They are here, on Earth?" He didn't even wait to see Soundwave's nod as he looked over at him. He just shook his head and sighed heavily. "Oh, Primus. We are so fragged."

Everyone frowned at him, not liking the way he had said that. They didn't know too much about any of the Decepticons that Soundwave was warning them about. They knew very little about them, other than Scourge and Cyclonus. But as for the others, they weren't too sure.

"I have heard of Jetstorm's reputation." Optimus Prime admitted, looking directly at Soundwave but frowning. "I only know that he was one of the first created Cybertronians and he was the first Seeker, other than Jetfire. But other than that, I don't know anything. But The Fallen, this is the first time I've ever heard of him. Jetfire?"

Jetifre glanced at the Prime before nodding. "I know 'em both. Jetstorm and I are the first ever created Seekers in history. And we're the first ever created Spark Twins." He received surprised looks to hear that he was admitting that he had a twin brother. No one had known that he had any relations at all. But the Legendary Seeker just shook his head and went on. "Jetstorm and I were created by the First Thirteen, their selves; two of many created. But we were the first fliers. Before I even became a Decepticon and Jetstorm became an Autobot," He ignored the surprised looks that he received again for that remark. "We were known as the Jet Twins. Jetfire is not my original name. I changed it sometime right after I started fighting in the Cybertron Games. Jetstorm was the same. He was not always as he is now. My name before the Games was Skyfire. And his was Silverbolt. We only changed our names when we started ruling the Cybertron Games as fighting partners. We fought our opponents together as a team. And we were unbeatable. We could take down any opponent that came at us in the Coliseum." His blazing red eyes seemed to dark as he ground his sharp metal teeth together. He was obviously remembering something really bad. "Eventually, Cybertronians were questioning about who was stronger than the other. Me or Jetstorm. We got pitted against each other but we refused to fight. We would not offline each other. And that's the main reason why we quit fighting in the Cybertron Games. If the Cybertron Game fans wanted us to kill each other for entertainment, we wouldn't have it. That's why Megatron became the new favorite in the games and we were forgotten."

"And after that?" Lennox asked, frowning up at the large black Jet. "What happened? Why did you become a Decepticon and he became an Autobot if you were so close? Decepticons and Autobots are sworn enemies, right?"

Both parties; Autobots and Decepticons nodded as they eyed each other as if expecting a fight any moment.

"That's true." Jetfire stated, looking down at the four puzzled looking humans. "When the Decepticons started up trouble, I was one of them. I suppose I mostly missed the fighting and that's why I joined them. But Silverbolt; Jetstorm," He paused shaking his head. "He didn't believe in violence like I did. He never did like fighting that much. But he did it in the games just to watch my back. We had a falling out after we picked our sides. But it was some time after the war on Cybertron began did he get himself killed." He lowered his head, looking a little pained at the memory. "He was killed by me."

Everyone stared at Jetfire with surprised. They couldn't believe that. They couldn't even imagine why Jetfire had killed his own brother.

"You? Why did you kill him?" Epps asked in alarm.

Jetfire shook his head as he kept his red glaring eyes adverted away from everyone. He didn't like telling them this but he knew it was better to just get it over with. "It was not on purpose that I killed Jetstorm. I was aiming for the first Prime, Magnus Prime. Jetstorm just got in the way. Believe me, I wasn't happy about it. Especially when I felt him deactivate. Spark twins tend to feel what the other is feeling now and then. So when I died, I felt the pain he went through." He shook his head again. "I stopped fighting for a number of years, staying isolation to deal with what I had done. I only joined up again when Megatron tracked me down and asked me to rejoin the Decepticons."

"And what of The Fallen?" Ultra Magnus asked, taking this as serious as it was suppose to be.

For a moment, Jetfire didn't answer. He just glanced at the large red Autobot Commander before he slowly shook his head. He let his eyes flicker over to Optimus Prime, who was watching him carefully. "If The Fallen is here on Earth, then this Planet is in more trouble than we realize." He jerked his head towards the Decepticons. "Earth is in more danger than it was with them. 'Cause The Fallen is just as bad as Unicron is. Maybe even a touch of worst. He's the direct decendent of that planet draining freak. And he's one of the First Thirteen. As legend goes, he turned against Primus, himself, just to help his creator, which was Unicron. And he's got powers none of us could ever imagine. He's powerful and very wicked. Whatever he's here for, he'll be using those powers against all of us." He then snorted as he eyed Optimus Prime with amusement. "But then again, he's gonna be doing a lot of avoiding you, Prime. So he's going to be careful with whatever he does."

"And why is that?" Jazz asked, curious like everyone.

Jetfire snorted again and shook his head with a sly smile on his face. "Because only a Prime can kill that Son of a Glitch. And since we have Optimus Prime, he's going to be try and avoid 'em. He's going to want to stay away from you as far as he can." He said looking back at Optimus.

Everyone couldn't help but smirk at the thought of that. It sounded like this Fallen fellow was afraid of Optimus. And with good reason too. "Well, that's some good news." Epps remarked with a shrug.

"Not if The Fallen's using the Decepticons and the Minicons." Jetfire added looking serious again. "If I knew him best, which I should because he is my and Jetstorm's creator, he's going to use them, Cons and Minis to try and kill Optimus Prime."

No one liked to hear that. Not even some of the Decepticons. After seeing what The Fallen could do and was capable of, they knew that Optimus Prime was the only hope of getting rid of him. They didn't trust The Fallen to spare their lives after defying him or Galvatron. It would be more than likely he was going to try and kill them.

As it was, if The Fallen was going to use Decepticons to try and kill the Autobots' Prime, they could already see that was going to be a problem. They knew that the Autobots would be very wary of them. Soundwave could already see some of the suspicion from some of the Autobots.

"We will not act against you until Starscream has recovered and decides what we are to do." The Communication Officer immediately said, tightening his claw around Nemesis Strika when she tried to remark to that. "We will follow his orders only and since he's out of commission right now, I am the next highest in command. So until he has been repaired and recovered, I will be in charge of the Decepticons." He looked around at all of the Decepticons with a look of warning. "Does anyone have a problem with that?"

None of the Decepticons spoke up as they shook their heads. They might have been semi great warriors and could put up a fight against the Autobots but they knew very well that out of all of them there, Soundwave was the most dangerous at the time. So they would agree with him. Even Nemesis Strika shook her head. She was hating this very much. But even she would have a hard time fighting Soundwave with all of his subordinates and all of those tentacles. He could easily tear her apart. So she would keep her mouth shut.

Once all of the Decepticons relented to Soundwave's words, the Communications Officer turned back to Optimus, pulling back all of his tentacles into his body. "For now, we, Decepticons will trust you, Optimus Prime. We will be at your mercy, even if it disgusts us. We only do it for Starscream's sake, make a note of that. Once Starscream is repaired, he will make the decisions of what we are to do."

Optimus nodded, somewhat pleased that Soundwave was willing to create an alliance with the Autobots even for a little while. He knew that the Decepticons were uneasy about the decision but they were not dumb enough to against their higher commanding officer. So right now, they just had to worry about how to get Starscream back to the Autobot-NEST base and how to deal with the rest of the Autobots' reaction to the Decepticons. He grimaced at that thought. This was not going to go so well, he already knew. No one back at the Base would be happy to have Decepticons prowling around, waiting for Starscream to recover. He knew very well that there was going to be a lot of screaming and yelling at him for making up his mind about helping this lot.

But for now, Optimus looked at Ratchet, who was already trying to patch the Seeker up with Jolt's help. "Ratchet, how do you suggest we transport Starscream back to the base?" He asked.

The sinister and sly smile that just curled onto the Chief Medical officer's face almost sent a shiver down Optimus' back. He did not like the look in Ratchet's eye at all. He had a really bad feeling about this. "Oh, that's going to be so easy, Optimus." The Autobot Medical Officer remarked, chuckling almost darkly. "But you are not going to like it."

"What?" Optimus Prime asked suspiciously and uneasily.

An hour later, the Autobot Prime was grumbling to himself as he pulled a large trailer down the Texas highway, trying his best to ignore all of the snickering he could hear all around him from the Autobots AND the Decepticons. Both Jetfire and Skywarp was flying somewhere above the clouds, probably laughing to their selves about Optimus Prime's reaction when Ratchet told him that he had to haul Starscream in a trailer. They were probably the smartest right now.

Driving somewhere behind him, Soundwave had taken the form of a big, black Emergency Mobile Command vehicle which looked very odd driving behind two semi trucks, two police cars and a few sporty looking cars. But it would have looked a lot odder if a large space Satellite was flying down the road, which was usually what Soundwave had taken the form of.

But either way, Optimus was highly annoyed.

Oh, yes.

No doubt in Optimus's processor he was going to have to think up of some kind of punish…..em, missions for every single one of them.

'Just missions.' Optimus thought to himself, almost wickedly. 'Very hard, embarrassing missions like cleaning the human disposable waste rooms for one. He almost chuckled to himself to imagine of how every one of the Autobots and the Decepticons looked carrying one of those yellow buckets with supplies in it and toilet brushes in their fingers. Oh, yes. He was so going to pay them all back for this.


	15. Autobot Reaction Blowout

If Optimus Prime had not spoken so quickly, there would have been a really nasty fight between Autobots and humans versus the Decepticons. The moment that that they had arrived with the Decepticons, things seemed to have went to Hell. And no one could blame the Autobots for reacting like they had.

When Teletraan had picked up Decepticon signatures approaching the Autobot-NEST base, it had sent alarms blaring throughout the entire base, making everyone tense up. It was believed at first that it was just malfunctioning again until Hound checked the perimeters and found that there were Decepticons approaching the base. He only missed the fact that they were with the other Autobots.

So when they found out that Decepticons were coming, all of the Autobots still on the base rushed out to guard the Base and prepare for an attack. They were quickly joined by most of the NEST soldiers, armed and ready.

But no one was ready to see Optimus Prime leading the Decepticons towards the Base.

Soundwave and the Decepticons, however, pulled back when they noticed the 'unwelcome committee' awaiting them. They knew it was better than to just follow the Prime right up to the very doors of the Base. If they had, the other Autobots probably would have opened fire.

Ironhide almost starting the firing if Elita One and Jazz hadn't sped up ahead and told them all to hold their fire. They quickly let the Autobots and the NEST soldiers know that Optimus was fully aware of the Decepticons right behind them, though they weren't exactly specific about why they were there. They both figured that Optimus should probably explain that bit to them.

Still, all of the Autobots were tense as they watched the Decepticons slowly follow after Optimus Prime and the large trailer he was hauling with Starscream.

Though, as Optimus lead the Decepticons towards the base, he was fully aware that all of his companions were uneasy about their new visitors. He could make out the glowing cannons that most of them had pointed directly at the Decepticons, who transformed right after they stopped nearly twenty feet away from the base and were starting to get their weapons ready for the inevitable fight. Skywarp had landed near Soundwave and looked torn from joining the trailer's side and staying back. He was not on ease being away from his Leader.

"Optimus!" Ironhide growled, glaring directly at the Decepticons and looking ready to shoot them right where they stood. "What the Pit is going on here? Why are those fragging Decepticons here? And why the frag is Starscream on that trailer you're hauling?"

Sighing heavily, Optimus stopped a few feet away from his Autobots and waited for Ratchet to unhitch the trailer from him. He pulled away from the trailer before transforming and grabbing a hold of it to pull it into the Base. He paused when many of the Autobots and the NEST team tensed up, looking at the motionless Starscream. "Hold your fire, everyone." He said calmly as he held up a hand to everyone. "They are not here to fight."

"Optimus Prime, sir! What exactly is going on here? Why are they here if not to attack us?" Sunstreaker growled, giving all of the Decepticons a vicious look as he held up both of his flame rods, which were sprouting five foot flames out of the ends.

Again, Optimus sighed and shook his head. "They are here on my invitation, everyone. I will explain once I help Ratchet get Starscream into his Medical lab." He told them.

Looking quite flabbergasted, the Autobots and the humans stared at the Prime as if he had just lost his mind. They couldn't believe that he would invite Decepticons to the base. Especially THESE Decepticons.

"What?" A few exclaimed in shock.

"Oh, for the love of Primus!" Ratchet grumbled as he grabbed a hold of the trailer from Optimus and started dragging it into the base. Jolt hurried to his side to help him but hesitated when Inferno blocked their patch giving Starscream a nasty look. He glared right back at the large red and bulky Autobot. "Inferno, if you do not get out of my way, I will weld your aft to the ground! I am going to start working on this Son of a Glitch right now and get him up and running again! And if I hear any more complaining, there will be a lot of check ups for those complainers!" He snarled.

Quite intimidated by Ratchet's words, Inferno powered down his cannons and stepped aside with wide eyes, watching as the two Medicbots haul the trailer and Starscream inside.

"Optimus, what in the name of Primus is going on here?" Ironhide demanded, throwing his arms and cannons up in the air.

"These Decepticons were attacked by their own, Ironhide." Optimus began as calmly as he could, though there was an air of irritation in his tone. He looked gravely around at all of the Autobots watching him with alarm. He chose to ignore their looks as he turned around and looked directly at Soundwave and the Decepticons as they stayed as far as they could away from them. He motioned to them to move closer but they did not move but watched the Autobots and the humans warily. "Soundwave, I have given you my word that we will not attack you unless you attack us first." The Prime said carefully.

"What?" Many Autobots exclaimed but they were ignored. They only received an irritated look from Elita One.

For a moment, none of the Decepticons chose to move. They just eyed the Autobots suspiciously before Soundwave slowly lumbered closer until he was standing right next to Optimus. He was fully aware of how tense the Autobots were looking at him. He eyed them just as tensely as they were.

"Everyone," Optimus began carefully turning slightly away from the Decepticon Communications Officer. "I'm sorry for not giving you an earlier warning about them. But it was necessary until I was sure of what they intended to do. Fortunately, they do not intend anything but await for Starscream to be repaired." He lift his head higher before glancing at Barricade and Groundhog. "Shortly after we found Cole Keller, Barricade and Groundhog approached us and requested that we brought Ratchet to see Starscream. They informed us that Megatron is no longer himself. He is a Minicon General under Unicron's command." He ignored all of the startled looks to hear about Unicron. "Megatron is now called Galvatron. He never came back online as Megatron. When Starscream used Cataclysm to reactivate Megatron, he was no longer as he was. Galvatron has made it a point that the Decepticons would now serve Unicron and try to revive him from whatever state he is in now. But," Optimus stated, shaking his head. "Starscream voiced his dissatisfaction to the idea. And for defying Galvatron, he was nearly deactivated. It was in Galvatron's best interest to get rid of him.

"Soundwave," Optimus motioned to the Decepticon next to him. "He has explained to me that they do not trust Galvatron or any of the Minicons that have joined him in this war against us. They stood up for Starscream as Decepticon Leader and for it, they have been targeted as enemies of the Minicons and the remaining Decepticons still serving under Galvatron. As of now, they are probably being hunted by their own team mates. They have no where else to go. So they turned to us for assistance." The Prime shook his head again, looking graver. "They had no choice but to ask us for Ratchet's medical assistance. If Ratchet does not repair Starscream, he will deactivate permanently."

"And why should we care for that Son of a Glitch, Optimus Prime, sir?" Sunstreaker suddenly asked, his tone very dark as he eyed the Decepticons. "He's been one of the worst Decepticons we've ever faced, besides him!" He jabbed his finger towards Soundwave. "He's killed many our Autobots! He's a cowardly, deceiving Pitspawn, just like the rest of them! So why should we help them?"

Optimus frowned at the sunny colored Autobot, shaking his head. "Because they made the choice to stand against Galvatron and Unicron. And as far as I am concerned, they are not here as Decepticons who are our enemies right now. They are Cybertronians with the need of our assistance. Soundwave is acting leader right now since Starscream is out of commission. But he has given me his word that none of the Decepticons, here, will attack or harm any humans or Autobots while they are here. And I believe him. So I am going to ask that all of you accept my decision to letting them stay here for a while." He told them.

Growling viciously, Sunstreaker shook his head, jabbing his finger at the Decepticons again. "Are you fragging serious, sir? Accept them? You want us to accept THEM? Optimus Prime, sir, that's like asking a starving wolf not to eat a lamb!"

"Are you a lamb then, Autobot?" Barricade snickered to himself with Groundhog. But he stopped when Soundwave shot him a warning look.

"Oh, you shut the frag up, Barricade!" Sunstreaker practically screamed at him, glaring hatefully. He looked back at Optimus, shaking his head. "Sir, I'm sorry, but I am not going to accept them!"

"Sunstreaker." Optimus sighed wearily.

But the sun colored Autobot shook his head as he glared at the Autotbot Leader. "No! That fragging Con tried to kill my brother!" He yelled, pointing at Soundwave. "He tried to hurt Dawn when we tried to rescue her from THEM! His word don't mean slag to me!" He cursed violently before he took a few steps forward and swooped down to scoop a startled Maggie Madsen up into his hand, who yelped when he did. He held her close to his chest while using the other finger to point at the Decepticons. "The first sign, sir! The first sign I ever see that they are a threat, I will use my very Spark to kill ALL OF THEM! And I know Sideswipe would say the very same thing if he were here!" He snarled before he turned and stormed away, letting the ground violently shake as he stomped back into the base.

Many of the Autobots flinched as they watched him go but quite a few didn't look like they didn't disagree with Sunstreaker.

It was then that Optimus Prime noticed that Sideswipe was actually not there among the Autobots. Neither was Bumblebee, Spitfire, Hot Rod, Arcee, or Flare-Up. He frowned as he looked around, seeing everyone else but not them. None of the young humans were there watching the Decepticons with unease. The Witwickys, Monique Epps, Sarah Lennox and the Boyds were there, standing in the hangar watching with unease but none of their kids were there.

"Where is the others?" Optimus asked, looking around at Ironhide with a frown.

Ironhide, still eyeing the Decepticons with discontent, shook his head and powered down his cannons to fold his arms. "The kids had to go back to school. They're missing too much and the School Faculty started complaining. Sides, Rod, Bee and Arcee took the College kids and that Leo kid back to Utah to get signed up for online classes instead. Spitfire and Flare are watching over Rex and Elena while they're in High School. Though, Monique and Elena's creators are making arrangements for them to go to the nearest High School, near the Base. It was their idea."

"Which means," Jazz chuckled uneasily. "The Younglings and the kids don't know about the 'Cons." He looked at Optimus, forcing a smile. "Optimus, I think it'll be better if we gave them a heads up. 'Cause if we don't, they're gonna find out about these guys the hard way and they are going to freak. And we all know that Sideswipe ain't gonna be happy about Starscream being here. He really hates that guy."

Optimus slowly nodded as he took it all in. He knew that was the best solution right now. He did not want the young Autobots coming back and finding out about the Decepticons only to have them try and shoot all of them without knowing what was going on.

But it was right at that moment, the Autobot Prime got the transmission from Sideswipe.

"WHAT THE FRAG? ARE YOU FRAGGING KIDDING ME?"

The entire Weber State University parking lot filled with booming shouts. People getting out and in of their cars jumped and spun around to see who was yelling like that, but it wasn't too hard to make out the handsome young man banging his fists on his own hood as he listened to his twin brother's transmission.

Oh, yes.

Sideswipe got the message right away that there were Decepticons at the Autobot-NEST Base. And just like Jazz had predicted hundreds of miles away, he really blew up.

Now, the human version of Sideswipe was banging his fists onto his own hood, swearing up a storm in Cybertronian, while Bumblebee, Hot Rod and Arcee watched with wide eyes. They heard the transmission between the twins but they were more in shock than anything else.

"HAS OPTIMUS LOST HIS MIND? WHY IS HE LETTING THEM STAY AT THE BASE?" Sideswipe continued to shout.

"I know! I totally let him have it too! I am so mad right now, I could blow up Soundwave myself!" came Sunstreaker's reply after telling his brother and the other four about the Decepticons.

"That's it! I am calling Optimus and I'm going to find out what the frag is going on! Talk to you later, Sunny!" Sideswipe said angrily before he cut the connection with his twin and called Optimus instead. It did not take very long to get a hold of him.

"Sideswipe?" Optimus Prime asked, already sounding like he was prepared for the verbal assault.

"Optimus Prime, sir! Have you lost your mind?" Sideswipe immediately shouted into the transmission. "Are you fragging kidding me? Why are there a bunch of stinking Decepticons at OUR base? Why are you even letting them stay there?"

There was a heavy sigh on the other side of the transmission line, proving that Optimus got the idea of who had told Sideswipe about the Decepticons. "Sideswipe, maybe we should talk about this when you get back to the base." The Autobot Leader spoke wearily.

"Optimus Prime, sir," Hot Rod spoke up, moving a little closer to Sideswipe. He didn't like this any more than Sides was. He down right hated the idea that there were Decepticons staying at their base. "I have to agree with Sideswipe on this one. Why are there Decepticons at the Base? Don't you remember what they did to Dawn? Or any one of us?" He asked.

"Hot Rod," Optimus sighed again from the other end of the transmission line. "The reason why that the Decepticons are here is because they needed our help. There are only eleven of them here. Starscream has been heavily damaged and if he doesn't get Ratchet's help, he will die. Soundwave is acting leader…" He was saying.

"SOUNDWAVE? ARE YOU FRAGGING KIDDING ME? WHAT IS HE DOING THERE?" Sideswipe suddenly shouted into the transmission line.

There was an irritated but calm sigh from the Autobot leader. "Soundwave is acting leader right now. He has given his word that none of the Decepticons are going to attack. Not until Starscream has been repaired. Now, when you can, return to the base and we'll discuss this."

"Optimus Prime, sir," Sideswipe spoke almost in a dry and irritated tone. He was not pleased at the least. "I'm sorry, sir. But until those Cons go, I'm not bringing Dawn back to the base. I do not want her any where near those slagging Cons! Do you not remember what happened to her?"

"I remember very well, Sideswipe." Optimus Prime spoke in his own dry tone. "Do not think I haven't forgotten what happened to Dawn. I promise she will be fine. Starscream is not even online at the moment. He is too badly damaged to come out of stasis lock as it is. As for the others, I am taking precautions that they are carefully watched. You have my word that Dawn, Sam and the others will be safe."

"Those things are still dangerous, Sir! They mean to harm humans! They came here to destroy this planet and now we're helping them?" Hot Rod nearly exclaimed, throwing his hands above his head in frustration. "Sir, we can't allow this! What if they turn around and stab us in the back? They have been our enemies for hundreds of years now! They've killed Autobots! They want to kill the humans! And now we're helping them? Optimus Prime, sir! This is the most insane idea that you've ever come up with! We should just get rid of them right now before they even have the chance…"

"Hey, what's going on?"

All five Autobots turned their heads in surprise to see Sam, Mikaela, Trent, Dawn and Leo approaching them, their things in hand. They hadn't heard everything that was said but they had seen how distressed their Guardians looked when they came out of the dorm buildings. They knew immediately something was wrong when they had seen how angry Sideswipe and Hot Rod were while Bumblebee and Arcee remained quiet and looking shocked.

Still, the young Autobots weren't too happy about this. They hadn't wanted their young friends to know about the Decepticons yet. But it was better to let them know what was wrong now that they had seen how upset they were.

So with an irritated sigh, Hot Rod shook his head and looked away. "There are Decepticons at the Base!" he said grumpily.

As to be expected, all of the young humans stared at them with shock. "What?" All of them but Leo exclaimed in alarm.

There was another heavy sigh escaped from the transmission line, providing the young humans that Optimus was still there. "This is so much harder than I thought it was going to be." They heard him grumble. "Everyone, please just listen to me and listen closely." He called through the radio, making all of them look at Sideswipe. They could tell that he was getting a little frustrated with how everyone was taking this new situation. "The Decepticons came to us for assistance. There are only eleven of them. Barricade and Groundhog showed up last night while we were retrieving Cole Keller, telling us that Starscream has been heavily damaged by Megatron, who is now going by a new name. Galvatron. Galvatron has joined the ranks of the Minicons and Unicron. And Starscream and the other ten did not agree with them. For they defiance to Galvatron and serving Unicron, they were attacked and Starscream was nearly completely deactivated. The Decepticons who stood up for him are no longer welcomed by their own team mates because they refuse to serve Unicron. They have no where else to go and all of them are damaged. They came to us for help. So I have decided to help them." The Autobot Prime remarked.

"Is…..Is Starscream…..is he dead?" Dawn asked sounding rather worried.

Sideswipe gave her a surprised look. "Dawn!" He said, almost accusingly.

Dawn frowned at him before shaking her head. "Sides, I'm worried about Starscream, okay? Yeah, I know he can be really bad but you got to remember. He protected me from Sideways. He didn't have to, but he did." She told him wearily.

Still frowning at her, Sides shook his head and folded his arms. "Dawn, the only reason why he defended you is because he was using you to get to Sam. Other than that, he wouldn't have thought twice about killing you. I don't want you to be any where near him. Him being nearly deactivated or not. I won't allow it." He said sourly.

It was very clear that Dawn was not happy with Sideswipe's words and everyone could see that when her eyes flashed and she gave him quite the furious look. She folded her arms and turned her back to him to show that she was very angry with him. "Sideswipe! I am your girlfriend and I love you so much, but do not tell me who I can and can't be around! I know you're just worried about my safety, but don't be! If what Optimus is saying is true, Starscream won't be doing a whole lot of moving as it is! Besides," She shot him another furious look. "He had a chance to hurt me the last time we met, remember? But he didn't! And I don't think he will even now! Not even if Ratchet does manage to save him and he recovers! I feel like I can trust him!" She told him angrily.

Sideswipe grimaced as he looked painfully at her before he sighed and moved over to her, carefully wrapping his arms around her. "Dawn, don't be mad, okay? I just don't want you to be in danger because of these Cons. They've been trying to destroy the Autobots for hundreds of years now. And they came to destroy Earth. And to harm you and all of the humans." He remarked, shaking his head. "And then all of a sudden, they're wanting our help to fix Starscream, whose been a threat to us for a very long time? How can you think I can't be suspicious?" He asked her.

Sighing right back, Dawn turned in his arms and looked up at him. She knew he had a point. "I know. I'm sorry. But I really do feel like I can trust Starscream. I don't know why, but I do. Can't you trust me on my feelings?" She asked him right back.

Making a face, Sideswipe didn't want to believe in Starscream being safe, even if he was nearly deactivated. But he didn't want Dawn to be mad at him. So with a sigh, he turned back to his real body and frowned. "Optimus Prime, sir, I'm sorry questioning your decision. I know I should trust you and I do. It's just a little…" He was saying.

"Hard." Hot Rod remarked, making a face.

"I understand completely. Believe me, I'm questioning my own decision about trusting Soundwave's words. But right at his moment, I think the only reason why I am taking this chance is because right now, these Decepticons are standing against the Minicons, who have returned." Everyone frowned in surprise to hear that. "Galvatron is throwing his allegiance to Unicron and more than half of the Decepticons are too afraid to go against him. Soundwave and the Decepticons with them are actually willing to work with us until Starscream has been repaired. And there is a chance that once Starscream regains consciousness, he may even decide to help us take care of the Minicons. This might be the only chance we have to ending this war with the Decepticons."

"Hm. Autobots and Decepticons working together?" Arcee asked a little skeptical with her arms folded across her chest. "That sounds like a day that will never come. How sure can you be to trusting the Cons, though, Sir?"

"I'm not so sure we can fully trust them, Arcee. But it's a shot we may have to take. With Unicron and the Minicons, we may not be able to stand against them by ourselves. But with the Decepticons, we may have a chance. If I can convince Starscream, who is considered the new Decepticon Leader, to join us to fight against them, it may be worth it in the end." Optimus explained.

"Well, he's got a point there. The enemy of my enemy is thy friend, right?" Trent asked.

Everyone gave him a skeptical look, even Leo and he wasn't even sure what the heck was going on. "Trent, maybe you should think before you say that. The Decepticons have been enemies of the Autobots since the beginning. A lot longer than the Minicons have been." Sides remarked.

Trent just wrinkled his nose at him and shook his head. "I'm just saying." He stated with irritation.

"Hey, Optimus. If Starscream is at the base," Sam said carefully, glancing at Bumblebee. There was one thing that he was wondering and that was mostly the reaction of a certain fiery red Autobot femme. "How is Spitfire taking it? I know she's not close to him as she used to, but he did put her back together after she blew up Cataclysm. So how….."

"Unfortunately," Optimus Prime said with a sigh. "We have not been able to tell her about Starscream yet. I'm still trying to convince the others to accept the Decepticons for now."

Hot Rod snorted loudly, folding his arms with a very grumpy look on his face. But everyone ignored him.

"I have not been able to tell Spitfire yet. But I am hoping that maybe Bumblebee will for me." Optimus said and for some reason everyone could almost sense a sly smile on the Autobot Leader's face.

Everyone frowned, looking at the young and black Autobot Scout, who looked rather bashful about something. He was rubbing the back of his neck with a deep blush on his human face. It was like he knew what Optimus was talking about and it was embarrassing to mention it in front of everyone else.

"Huh? How is Bumblebee going to tell Spitfire? His vocal processor is still broken." Hot Rod said making a face.

There was an almost awkward silence among everyone. Bumblebee had actually smiled sheepishly and raised an eyebrow as he also shrugged as if trying to look like he was innocent from an accusation that was being made against him.

But Sideswipe, Hot Rod, and Arcee seemed to have gotten it because they looked shocked. Their eyes went wide and their jaws fell as they stared at Bumblebee. "WHOA! Are you serious?" Sides was the one to gasp out first.

Sam, Mikaela, Dawn, Trent and Leo just frowned at him before looking around. They didn't understand at all of what he was talking about.

"Huh? What are you talking about? What's going on?" Trent asked, looking quickly around at all of the surprised looking Autobots. "What? Come on, guys! We're in the dark here!"

Hot Rod's mouth moved up and down as if he was a fish out of water all the while pointing at Bumblebee who seemed to be going a little redder by the minute. Even his real body seemed to have heated up a little. But Arcee grinned as she looked at him with excitement. "Bumblebee! Did you really…? When did this happen? That's so fantastic!" She said brightly.

"What? What are you talking about? What did Bumblebee do?" Trent exclaimed for everyone as they all looked between the Autobots with confusion.

Sides grinned as he draped his arms around a confused Dawn's shoulders and leaned only a little on her. "Bumblebee and Spitfire are Sparkmates now." He said in a singsong.

Eyes snapped wide open, minus Leo. He had no idea what they were talking about. But all four friends looked at Bumblebee with surprise, wondering if they heard right. But by the blush on Bumblebee's face, and how he was looking elsewhere but them, it told them all they needed to know.

"Bumblebee!" Mikaela laughed, followed by everyone. "That's great! When did this happen?"

A shrug was the only answer she got from the bashful Autobot.

"What the heck! What are you all talking about? What's Sparkmates and all of that stuff?" Leo asked, very confused. No one really answered him but looked excitedly at Bumblebee. They were all too happy to answer him.

But a chuckle from Sideswipe's radio transmitter reminded all of them that Optimus was still on the line. "Sparkmates, Leo Spitz, is what we, Cybertronians, call spouses. Or mates. In other words that you may be able to understand, Bumblebee and Spitfire are now Sparkmates. They are…..pretty much how you would say married to one another. They have made their oaths to each other that they belong only to one another. And they will be together for the rest of their lives. Their Sparks are now intertwined with one another and only for one another." He explained for Leo.

Leo's eye started to twitch only a little from being confused but he was getting the idea.

"When did this happen, Bee? How did it happen?" Dawn asked excitedly, not being able to help herself as she bounced a little on her heels.

Sideswipe, Hot Rod, Arcee and Bumblebee smiled almost slyly as they looked at all five of their human friends with raised eyebrows. They looked as if they had a private joke they wanted to share but weren't too sure if they should share it. "Ah…..Dawn, babe. I don't think you want to know the details. It kind of reverts back to our conversation before Flare-Up, Cliffjumper and Bluestreak showed up. You know, the one when you were asking about Cybertronian…." Sides was asking.

"AH! AH! AH!" Dawn suddenly cried out, waving her hands in the air at him and shaking her head as her face turned a brilliant red. "Okay, okay, okay! I get it, Sides! Don't need to bring that up!" She yelped.

"What the…Cybertronian what?" Leo asked, his eye starting to twitch again.

Hot Rod just grinned devilishly as he looked from Sides to Dawn and then back. He knew exactly what they were talking about. And it was going to be funny to see the look on Dawn's face in a second. "Oh, they're talking about Cybertronian sex." He snorted, ignoring the wide eyed looks he got from everyone. "Bee and Spit did the Cyber dirty and that's how they're…" He was saying.

"HOT ROD!" Everyone yelled, while Bumblebee glared dryly at the Spy Changer. "SHUT UP!"

"Okay! We DEFINITELY don't need to go into the details!" Sam exclaimed, covering his ears as if to block out what Hot Rod was going to say.

Hot Rod just shrugged innocently as if he hadn't said anything wrong. "What? He asked, all right?" He then looked slyly at Dawn and Sides, who both looked a little red. "So, you guys had THE talk, have ya?" He asked.

A moment later, the electric blue Porsch had to skid backwards because Sideswipe swung his door open as if to smash in the other Autobot's door. The Corvette Stingray was growling his engine dangerously while Sides' human form glared directly at his way too cheerful friend. "Hot Rod, don't you even think about going there. As humans usually say it, that's none of your business. And it's none of our business about Bumblebee and Spitfire." He wiped the glare off his face and looked at the young Autobot Scout with a soft smile. "But, I'll have to say, congrats, Bumblebee. I didn't doubt you and Spitfire at all. But I didn't think it would be so soon before you two became Sparkmates." He said, smiling.

Bumblebee just grinned and shrugged.

"Still," Arcee remarked making a face. "Optimus Prime's got a point. Bumblebee can tell Spitfire about Starscream even if she's not here."

"How?" Sam was the one to ask. "How can he tell her?"

The Autobots looked at him and the others before shaking their heads. Sides just shrugged as he rest his arm on Dawn's shoulders, smiling faintly. "Well, I don't know personally. The one to ask that question is Optimus Prime and Elita One. Or Ironhide and Chromia." He told him.

"Sparkmates are able to speak to each other directly without having to open a transmission line." Optimus immediately explained. "With Sparkmates, they can sometimes feel and see what the other is seeing or feeling. Bumblebee and Spitfire don't have to speak to each other with their voices. They can send images and thoughts back and forth between one another. So Bumblebee won't need a voice to tell Spitfire about Starscream."

"Ye-ah. And I'm betting he's not looking forward to telling her the news." Arcee said, making a face as she looked at Bumblebee. "Because she is so going to flip out. I know she's with Bumblebee for life now. But I'm betting she still thinks about Starscream in that non-feeling way. They were friends during the war, after all. Even if she had betrayed them in the end. And I'm sure for a fact that Starscream is not going to be too pleased to find out that Spitfire is with Bumblebee for life now."

"Huh?" Leo asked, making a face. "I know they're pretty much married now. But if something were to happen to the yellow guy, couldn't she…"

"Nope." Sides said, tilting his head to the side, closer to Dawn's. "You'll find the Cybertronian Sparkmate divorce rate is very low. Say like…zero. When we take mates, we take 'em for life. It won't matter if one of us dies or not. Our Sparks belongs only to our mates and it will never be handed to another Cybertronian."

"And that makes you and Dawn….?" Leo asked, motioning between the two.

A not very amused look appeared on the double blader's face while Dawn was blushing. "No! We're not exactly…" She was saying bashfully.

"They're together and that's it." Mikaela interrupted, holding up a hand just as a look appeared on Leo's face. She and everyone was getting the idea that he was getting strange and unusual thoughts in his head right about now. "Dawn and Sides are boyfriend and girlfriend. They're not exactly…"

"Physically compatiable." Sam joined in, a twinge of a blush on his face as he looked apologetically at Sides and Dawn. "But it don't matter for them. They're emotionally compatiable, they love each other very much and that's all that matters."

"And it's none of our business. So let's just drop it." Arcee said, dryly. She jabbed a finger towards Leo as he made a disgusted face and started to open his mouth. "You, especially! I don't want to hear any more of it! Not about Dawn and Sides. Not about Bumblebee and Spitfire! Right now, we just got to concentrate on those Decepticons."

The three male Autobots' faces fell, along with the five humans'. They just had to be reminded that there were Decepticons on the Autobot-NEST base.

"Oh, yeah. All the excitement is making me forget the bigger problem." Hot Rod remarked dryly before looking at Sides. "Optimus Prime, sir, are you really sure that letting those Cons stay at the base is a good idea? How sure are you that it's not all a ruse?"

"Hot Rod, why don't all of you return to the base and see for yourself?" Optimus spoke gravely through the transmission. "When you see Starscream, you will understand why I think it's not a ruse. And you will understand why Ratchet is going to try and repair him. Return to the base as soon as you can, everyone. We have a lot to discuss. Optimus Prime out."

"Well…." Trent said with hesitation. "Let's go check out the Decepticons for ourselves then. He didn't exactly say who was there."

"And I have a feeling that I don't want to know." Sideswipe remarked dryly before he tilted his head towards his real body and the doors opened for himself and Dawn. "Come on, Autobots. Let's get back to the base and see what this is all about. Autobots, rolling out."

And they began their journey back to the Grand Canyon Base, all the while, Bumblebee was making that dreaded call to Spitfire. He was so not looking forward to this at all.


	16. Family Feud

It was not going to be easy with the new arrivals being around at all.

Even after the day had passed since Optimus and the Autobots brought them back to the Autobot-NEST base. There were a lot of wary eyes watching as the Decepticons followed Optimus around, getting a tour around the base so they would know where to go and what to do. The Decepticons were fully aware of the suspicious looks that were following them as they walked with Optimus Prime, Elita One, Prowl and Ultra Magnus; whom was having a dirty look contest with Nemesis Strika. It was easy to say that the two were itching to fight one another. It was only a good thing that Optimus and Soundwave were both watching the two; Autobot and Decepticon very closely to make sure that nothing happened.

So far, so good.

It was the looks that the other Autobots were giving the Decepticons that worried Optimus. He knew that it was going to be quite the handful trying to keep any fights from breaking out. He knew that the Autobots were going to be very testy until the Decepticons could prove their selves.

But even Optimus wasn't too sure about them. Even if Soundwave had given his word that they would not attack them. It was only a matter of time before someone's temper flew through the roof and something would happen.

There was really only one idea that Optimus could think of to avoid there being too much trouble.

"Soundwave, I'm going to assign an Autobot to each one of the Decepticons as a partner." The Prime explained to the wary looking Communications Officer. "Each one of the Decepticons will had to remain near the Autobot almost at all times. That way, we can avoid anything happening. I trust your word to not attack my Autobots but there are still precautions that I have to take to avoid any fights."

Soundwave just nodded as he looked at the somewhat taller Cybertronian next to him. "I understand, Optimus Prime." He turned and looked at some of the grumpy looks he was getting from the others, knowing fully well that they weren't liking the idea. "Decepticons, you will be assigned to an Autobot of my and Optimus Prime's choosing. The Autobot you are assigned to will escort you around the base at all times. If there are any problems, contact me or Optimus Prime." He narrowed his burning gaze at them, especially when Barricade started grumbling. "And if you have a problem with it, speak now."

"Yeah. Do we have to follow a fragging Autobot around like a dog?" Barricade asked in a very grumpy way.

"If Optimus Prime think it's best, then yes." Soundwave said dryly, glaring at him. "And there won't be any fighting between you and that Autobot! If you start the fight, you answer to me."

Optimus Prime made a face. He didn't think that was the most tactical way of putting it. It would definitely cause some problems with how Soundwave made it sound like. But he was the acting Decepticon Leader right now. And he really didn't have much to say about it.

And then suddenly Soundwave stiffened right beside him.

Frowning, Optimus glanced at the Decepticon and noticed that he was looking elsewhere. He followed his train of vision and spied the Office area of the base. It was Agent Simmons' office that Soundwave was glaring at right now. And before he knew it, the Decepticon Communications Officer was storming towards the offices, leaving a few of the Decepticons and the Autobots staring after him in surprise. Optimus quickly followed to see what he was up to.

The office part of the hangar was more like large cubicles for the offices. They were as large as a normal office would be but they did not have ceilings hovering over them. It was easier for the humans in the offices to speak to the Autobots when they dropped by for a little chat.

It did not take very long to realize what had Soundwave's attention.

Especially when the Decepticon reached into the office, while Simmons was working on his laptop and grabbed something.

"HEY!" Simmons suddenly shouted.

Soundwave withdrew his large hand, revealing a glass case in it. It was carrying the remains of his former subordinate, Frenzy, who was in many pieces. The small Decepticons' head was cut into two and smashed to bits. And it was propped up with small wires and rods to make it stand up as if it were a decoration for Simmons' office.

Immediately, Simmons was out of his office, glaring up at the tall Decepticon. "Hey! Put that back! That is stealing from MY office!" He yelled up at him.

Soundwave ignored him as he eyed Frenzy in the glass case with a very annoyed look. He did not look very happy at all to see how broken his subordinate was. He even shot Barricade a look, who looked alarmed to see Frenzy.

"Hey!" Simmons shouted, waving his arms to get Soundwave's attention. "Hey! Decepticon! That thing is mine! Put it back right now! Prime! Make him put it back!"

"Frenzy is NOT some decoration you can keep for your own amusement." Soundwave growled as he glanced down at the human before he placed the glass case in his palm and squeezed it until the glass shattered.

"HEY!" Simmons shouted in rage. "Do you know how much that glass case cost to put around that….!"

A deep growl escaped Soundwave as he gave the human a warning look and plucked Frenzy up with one of his tentacles. He did not want to hear it from a human right now. He even spared a warning glance at Optimus when he sighed. "Frenzy belongs to me. He is not some decoration that your humans can use." He said in a dark tone.

Again, Optimus sighed and shook his head as he looked down at Simmons. "Simmons, Soundwave is Frenzy's creator. He is only taking back what is his." He explained calmly.

"No way! I helped kill that thing! It attacked me, the blonde Aussie chick, the big black fat hacker and the Sec Def! We took it out and I wanted to keep it! Me!" Simmons said very angrily. "That thing is mine! It's not going to be any use to them! It's dead! So I want it back!"

A few growls rose up through all of the Decepticons but Soundwave held up a hand to them as he continued to examine Frenzy's body.

"Actually, Simmons." Someone interrupted before the cranky Agent could keep on protesting. Everyone turned their eyes to see Secretary Keller and Tom Banacheck making their way towards them, all the while eyeing the Decepticons with suspicion but curiousity. "Seeing that this thing, here, made that thing, it belongs to him. He wants it back, he can have it back." The Sec Def was the one who spoke. He held up a hand when Simmons looked like he was going to keep arguing with him. "Simmons, think very hard about who you're fighting over that thing with. If I had to bet on either you or this Decepticon in a fight, I'm sorry. But I'm betting on the Decepticon. That small guy belongs to him. So he can have him back."

Swearing up a storm, Simmons shot Soundwave a very angry look before he went back into his office, slamming the door hard. He didn't even seem aware that the Autobots, Decepticons and the two humans were fully aware of how much he was cursing all of them.

Rolling his eyes, Keller looked up at Soundwave as he separated the glass from Frenzy and tossed it into what looked like a recycling bin. "You do realize that Simmons have a point about that….." He was saying.

"His name is Frenzy." Soundwave said without missing a beat, probably highly annoyed that everyone was calling him an It. He continued to look Frenzy over before he slid out three tentacles and began to pull pieces of the small Decepticon apart. But whatever he was looking for, he seemed to have found it because he nodded and carefully lowered Frenzy to the ground, while bending over him. He glanced down at his chest, which several hatches popped open and all of his subordinates jumped out. They growled when they saw the state that their fellow animalistic Decepticon was in. They sure did not look pleased, that was for the certain.

"Ah, so what are you looking for?" Banachek asked, looking at the broken Decepticon's body.

Soundwave just shook his head as he began plucking broken and bent pieces, pushing them towards Reedman, who seemed to have understood what he wanted of him. He moved closer before his eyes flashed bright red and there was a low click. Everyone, the Autobots and the humans watched in surprise and alarm as they watched as small metal balls began to fall from Reedman's form before he completely seemed to dissolve in small beads. The metal orbs began rolling over one another until they piled right on top of Frenzy's body, covering him entirely. There a strange metallic hum coming from each one of the hundreds of metal balls as they began shifting and rolling all over the small broken Decepticon.

"What in the world….?" Keller asked in alarm as he watched several more of the metal balls roll over to the rest of Soundwave's subordinates and began pulling small pieces of their metal frame right off of them before returning them to the pile of metallic balls. "What is that thing?"

Soundwave did not look up from his strange subordinate's work as all of the balls worked like ants, moving the metal pieces from his other subordinates and letting them disappear within the mass. "Reedman is an Insecticon." He explained quietly. "Or at least a mass of them. The Insecticons are mostly made for reconnaissance but these ones making up Reedman can be used for multiple reasons. They form together and make up Reedman, who is not my original subordinate. He actually belonged to Shockwave as an experiment. But working for me for a number of years, Reedman has become rather loyal to me. They have their purpose." He finally glanced at the humans before looking at Optimus Prime. "They can be easily served as what humans would be called nanobots. As of now, they are repairing Frenzy, using my subordinates' metal."

"But I thought….." Banachek remarked in confusion. "That thing has been dead for almost two years now. How can it…..?"

The Decepticon Communications Officer shook his head and he looked back down at the mass of Insecticons as they worked. "Each one of my subordinates are built completely different from Autobots and Decepticons together. While most of the Cybertronian population, we have only one Spark chamber. I have created my subordinates to possess two. When Frenzy was severely damaged, his Spark immediately transferred to his backup Spark chamber and he went into complete shutdown until I could repair him and reactivate him. He is not dead. He is merely shutdown for the time being. It was a backup system I gave each of my creations. They only look deactivated but they are not."

Slowly, Optimus nodded as he looked thoughtfully at all of the Insecticons. "That might explain why Ratchet never sensed Frenzy's energy source before now. While Ratchet is one of the best Medicbots the Cybertronian world has come to seen, even he cannot sense energy from a Cybertronian in complete shutdown." He said thoughtfully.

Finally after about five minutes of watching the Insecticons working, the tiny Cybertronians rolled to the side and began building their self back upwards until they had become Reedman again.

And as soon as they were off of Frenzy, it was revealed that all of the small deactivated Decepticon was completely repaired.

Soundwave took a moment to examine Frenzy, looking him over for any defaults. He seemed to be satisfied after that moment before he stretched out one of his tentacles and placed the sharp tip right on top of Frenzy's small chest plate. He glanced at Keller and Banachek who were absentmindedly inching closer to get a better look. "You may want to step back." He warned them.

Frowning, Keller and Banachek looked at him before they moved back several feet to watch what was going to happen next.

There was a crackling sound of electricity before bright blue volts jolted right into the small Decepticon's body, making it jerk violently. Frenzy's limbs jerked outward before thrashing a little with buzzsaws in his claws spinning rapidly. A string of metallic sounds burst from him before he jerked upward and was on his feet, growling and hissing as he lunged towards the two humans.

But before Frenzy got too far, Soundwave snatched him right out of the air, stopping him from attacking Keller and Banachek, even as Optimus and the Autobots prepared to defend them. The small Decepticon continued to growl and hiss as he thrashed in Soundwave's grip until he jerked his head to growl at whoever was holding him back. He immediately froze to see Soundwave looking calmly at him with the rest of his subordinates. He then began a series of clicks and beeps escaped, speaking in Cybertronian to his master.

A deep rumble of clicks and beeps followed after from Soundwave, proving that he was speaking right back to Frenzy before shaking his head as he let his blazing red eyes flicker to Optimus Prime, the Autobots and the humans.

Whatever he had said to Frenzy, it surprised the small Decepticon to looking wildly at the Autobots and humans. He did not look too satisfied but he nodded to his master.

After that, Soundwave released the small Decepticon and opened up a hatch on his chest armor. He watched as Frenzy scampered up his long metal arm before diving into his chest compartment. The rest of the Decepticons were quick to follow. Soundwave closed his chest hatch once his subordinates were inside before looking at Optimus. "You can relax, Optimus Prime. Frenzy now understands the situation and he will not continue to attack any humans or Autobots." He told them.

Optimus just nodded before he glanced at the other Autobots and they too relaxed. He turned back to Soundwave. "Well, now that is over with, I suppose we should continue on our tour around the Base."

"Well, you have at it, Optimus." Keller remarked as he folded his hands behind his back and shifted almost uneasily. "I….I suppose I have a long overdue talk with my daughter to get done and over with."

Making a face, Optimus nodded, realizing that Keller was going to try and do something that might be very difficult. He had already gotten the idea that talking with Cole Keller was not an easy task to do. But to be John Keller, her father, that had thought that she was dead for the past five or six years, things would probably get a little messy. "I wish you luck then, John." He told him.

Sighing heavily, Keller turned away and started to walk down the hall towards the barracks. "Thanks, Optimus. I have a feeling I'm going to need it." He muttered, not so happily.

As it was, Keller found out where Cole was staying. He was taking his time approaching the room that she was in, though. He was not looking forward to speaking to Cole after six years of thinking that she was dead and then finding out that she was alive all of that time. He didn't even have a clue on what he was going to say to her. He didn't know how to even talk to her after all of that time. He wasn't sure if he could talk to her without starting to yell at her about how bad she had hurt him and her mother.

As far as he was concerned, that was the only thing he wanted to do right now.

The room that a soldier pointed out turned out to be room N-44 and after a moment of just standing in front of the door, Keller finally found the nerve to knock on the door. He had to wait for a moment before it opened and revealed Martha Richards. They looked right at one another, almost blankly before she moved to the side, shaking her head. "Be careful, John. She's not in a good mood." She said quietly.

Keller just made a face and shook his head. "When is she not?" He breathed quietly. He only caught a glimpse of Martha rolling her eyes, though not looking like she didn't disagree with him. He carefully walked into the small room and looked around before finding Cole.

Sitting on the cot in the corner, Cole had her elbows resting on her knees and she was pretty much glaring at the opposite wall. But when Keller entered, she looked over at him before her eyes grew darker. She was not too thrilled to seeing him. She made a disgusted sound before tearing her eyes away from him. "I knew you'd show up sooner or later." She muttered.

Frowning, Keller eyed her with a little discontent before he heaved a deep sigh and moved closer as he folded his hands behind his back. "Hello, Colette. It's been a while." He said firmly. The look that Cole gave him could have smoldering or at least a look as if she wanted to roast him alive. She knew very well that her father knew that she hated that name. And remembering that, Keller cleared this throat and looked down at the ground for only a moment. "Oh, that's right. You hate that name. Very well then, Cole." He said, though he grimaced at the way it sounded on his tongue.

Tearing her eyes away from him again, Cole heaved a sigh and then brought her arms around herself, as if shielding her from him. She did not want to be in the same room as him right now. "What do you want?" She asked forcefully.

Making a face at her, the Sec Def shook his head, not believing that things were already spiraling out of control between them. He couldn't believe that she was acting this way when this was the first time in almost six years since they even seen or spoke to one another. "Do you really have to ask that, Cole?" He asked with a slight irritation. "I had thought you were dead for the past six years and then I suddenly find out that you've been alive all of this time? Why do you think I'm here?"

Rolling her eyes, Cole pushed herself away from the wall and set her feet on the floor before she stood up. She was starting towards the door when Keller grabbed her arm and held her in place. She gave his hand a nasty look before turning that look onto him next. "Mister Secretary Keller, you and I don't get along. So if you know what's good for you, you will take your hand off of me." She warned him.

"Cole! I am your father! Can you not just talk to me?" Keller demanded, his tone starting to get angry.

Cole narrowed her eyes at him before she wrenched her arm from his grip and backed away from him, pausing when her mother touched her back and gave her an urging look to talk to him. "No!" She shot, looking from one to the other. "I don't want to talk to you! Either one of you! I know what will happen! We will both start yelling, just like we are right now! I'm doing us both a favor by walking away before anything else can happen!" She warned her father before she turned and marched right out of the room.

But Keller was not so ready to give up on this conversation. He pursed his lips tightly before following after Cole. He had to wrench his arm away from Martha when she tried to grab it and stop him from following after their daughter. He was not going to give in. He wanted answers and he was determined to get them.

"John." Martha sighed before hurrying after him. "John, please don't…"

But Keller shook his head as he held up a hand to her to silence her before looking back at Cole's retreating back. "Cole! You stop right there!" he yelled after her.

Forcing a harsh laugh, Cole shook her head and turned around, but continued to walk away from him. "What the hell do you want from me? I don't want to talk…." She was saying.

"Cole, you are being completely stupid by trying to avoid this!" Keller shot, and that made his daughter halt in her footsteps and glare at him. He shook his head, ignoring the look of warning that she was trying to give him. He was not going to stop there. "Why did you do this to me and your mother, Cole? Why pretend that you were dead? Why work with a terrorist group?" he demanded.

For a long moment, Cole glared fiercely at her father. She was starting to realize that a few people were in the halls, looking uneasily from her to the Secretary of Defense. She even spied Reno just barely coming out of the room he was staying in. But she honestly didn't care about them. If her father wanted to have this out with, then so be it. Her face setting firm, she backtracked the way she had come to face her father down. "Why? Why? You want to know why?" She shook her head as her eyes narrowed to slits. "I faked my death to get away from YOU! I entered the Department because I was trying to make a reason in my life! They convinced me that these aliens that you're working with were here to destroy Earth!" She nearly shouted, ignoring everyone that was watching them with unease. She just glared directly at her so called father. "Okay! So I did things that I will regret for the rest of my life! So I helped the Department do a lot of things that were bad! I nearly helped kill a teenage kid! And I nearly helped destroy one of those things!" She snapped, throwing her hand towards the two Autobots; Wheeljack and Hound, who were discussing the new Decepticon problem with each other. They sure looked surprised when they heard what was going on. And they looked torn between quickly backtracking and hurrying away or just stand there and listen like everyone else. "But one thing that I do not regret is getting away from you! DAD!" Cole snapped as she started to turn away to leave.

Shaking his head, feeling slightly hurt but confused, Keller just watched her. "Why are you so hateful, Colette? What did I ever do to make you so angry?" He asked simply.

Stopping again, Cole ground her teeth before she whirled back around and folded her arms across her chest, looking very impatient. "You want to know to what and why? You didn't do anything." She said coldly, making her father frown. "You didn't do anything to help Colleena's depression. You wouldn't. You kept on being a stubborn old man who couldn't just let her be happy with the one idiot on this planet that she wanted!"

"Hey." Reno said, offended now moving forward. "Now, I resent that. I know I can be stupid but I am not an idiot. Besides, your father did try….."

"You stay the hell out of this, Reno!" Cole snapped at him. She jabbed a finger right into his face, shaking her head. "You are just as bad as HE is! I hate you as much as I hate him! You left Colleena at the alter! All because you were a coward for not fighting for her! If you really loved my sister, you would have manned up and fought for her! But you didn't! You ran away like a coward! You both," She looked from Reno to her father and back again. "You both may have not pulled the trigger, but it is your fault that Colleena that killed herself! You couldn't let her GROW up and be who she wanted to be!" She snapped at her father before turning to Reno, who grimaced. "And you didn't fight for my sister when you should have! You should have TRIED to make it work with her and my family!"

"Cole….." Keller began. "But why punish your mother…..?"

Cole gave him another cold look before she shook her head. "I wasn't punishing my mother, Keller. I didn't want to do what I had to when it would hurt her. But just like you," She said coldly. "She didn't see me as your remaining, living daughter. You both saw me as Colleena. Right after Colleena's suicide, every single time you saw me, you accidentally called me her. How do you think mistakening me as Colleena felt, both of you?" She shot at both of her parents. "You couldn't even tell me apart from my twin sister, who had just died! I got tired of it! So that is WHY! And the only reason why I am here, trying to help out these damn robots, is because I want a shot at the people who murdered the only person that I cared about!" She said sharply before she turned and started to leave. "Leave me the hell alone, John Keller! I'm here to help the robots, not you! When the Department is done and over with, I'm gone! You will never have to mistaken me as Colleena again!"

And this time, John Keller, Martha Richards and Reno Banes just watched as she walked away.

There was a very long silence as they stared down the hall that Cole had disappeared from before Reno sighed and rubbed his eyes. He knew it was not fair to Keller or Martha about what was just said by Cole, but he couldn't blame her either. He knew fully well that he should have fought for Colleena before she committed suicide. "Geez." He groaned before running his fingers thought his hair and looking at Keller. "I'm sorry, John. I'm just….."

"Don't, Reno." Keller suddenly blurted out, holding up a hand to him. He shook his head, looking extremely pained as he glanced around at all of the gaping eyes. He felt somewhat embarrassed but he felt worst for the heated argument he just had with Cole. "Don't say a word right now. The problem is with this situation is that Cole told the truth. I should have let you marry Colleena. And you should have manned up to me and told me how it should have been. We both were foolish for letting our stubborn pride get in the way. My only regret in all of this, other than me being foolish, is that Martha did not deserve what Cole just said to her."

And with that said, the Sec Def turned and walked away.

It was not even three minutes later before the proximity alarms went off, blaring throughout the entire base.

"Oh, man. What now?" Reno groaned.


	17. Double of Trouble

When the alarms in the base started blaring, most of the Autobots and humans just groaned and started looking around while others looked anxious or worried. They were sure hearing Teletraan blaring the alarms a lot lately and it was starting to get a little tiresome. They were starting to get tired of hearing it.

But after a few moments of looking it up, Hound reported to Optimus Prime about what it really was.

"We have two Earthbounds coming in. It doesn't look bad. I'm picking up Autobot signatures but I can't figure out who they are. I can't seem to contact them either. They must have damaged Communications systems." The Autobot IT reported.

Slowly, Optimus nodded as he took in the thought of two more Autobots joining their ranks. They would need to go meet up with these Autobots and ensure their safety and such. He looked around, knowing that not everyone could go. He couldn't certainly just leave the Decepticons behind on the base while all of the Autobots were out. Besides, the Earth's public was still demanding to see the Autobots. They would mostly get a lot of attention from the humans. More than they would like. And he wasn't sure how the Earth's population would take it now that there were Decepticons among them. Especially after he just got done warning the humans that the Decepticons were a threat.

"Hound, where is the landing destination going to be?" The Autobot leader asked, looking back at the metallic green Autobot.

Hound looked at his arm computer, typing a little on it to finding out. "Uh…..if my calculations are correct, it should be….oh, slag." He groaned grimacing looking at the Autobot Leader. "It's going to be in downtown Denver, Colorado. More than likely at the Denver Football Stadium. And they are having a game today."

That wasn't going to be good. If the two Autobots came down right in the middle of the football game, people could be hurt and there would be a lot of damage. Optimus nodded. "The time they should arrive?" He asked.

"Two hours, if I'm right. So we'll need to get going if we want to make it on time." Hound told him.

Optimus nodded again before looking around and putting on his leader look as he eyed all of the Autobots standing around them. He eyed the young Autobots, whom had arrived not too long ago and both of the twins were glaring directly at the Decepticons while everyone else looked uneasy. Among Sideswipe, Hot Rod, Bumblebee, and Arcee, both Flare-Up and Spitfire had arrived and by the looks of it, Bumblebee had told Spitfire about Starscream. She had come in very quickly and full of anxiety, asking if she could see Starscream. But at the moment, Ratchet and Jolt were not letting anyone into the medical lab; which they both were still in working on the Decepticon Seeker.

Even Dawn had been wanting to see Starscream, even if Sideswipe wasn't looking too thrilled about it. But Ratchet had put his foot down and told her no. It was due to the fact that she was carrying All Spark energy still and they couldn't risk her getting hurt if it activated and tried to repair Starscream. They did not want her to go into a coma or worst, die, just because of the Decepticon.

"All right, Autobots. I'll lead the Earthbound retrieval. Elita One, Ultra Magnus, Ironhide, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, Jetfire, Hot Rod and Red Alert will join me." Optimus stated, looking around at everyone. "As well as any of the humans that wish to come along."

A few hands went up. Of course, all of the young teens wanted to go, Leo included. He did not want to be stuck on the base with the Decepticons at all. Lennox, Reno, Epps and Vladimir chose to go along as well.

"Optimus Prime." Soundwave spoke up, making everyone tense up as he lumbered a little closer to the Autobot Leader. "Perhaps I can be of an assistance. As you have seen, I do have some medical capabilities. If your two new Autobot arrivals are damaged, I can patch them up for the return to your base."

None of the Autobots looked ready to hear that. They did not like the idea of Soundwave leaving the base with them. But before the twins or Hot Rod could start protest, Optimus nodded as if he agreed. He had thought that might be a good idea, even no one else thought so. "All right. Soundwave, you may join us." He told him.

"What?" Many Autobots exclaimed in alarm.

Optimus frowned at them before he opened up a private channel to all of the Autobots so he could tell them why he was letting Soundwave join them. "Everyone, I am merely allowing Soundwave join us so I can keep an eye on him, myself. I want to try and keep Soundwave separated from the other Decepticons while I am off base. I trust his word that he won't attack our Autobots, but I think it best to make sure that he doesn't have the chance. As acting Leader, he could have them attack while we were gone. That is why I'm letting him come with us. Besides, if we show Soundwave that he have some point of trust towards him, he may start opening up to what his true intentions are." He informed them over the line.

Slowly some of the Autobots nodded as they look in the information. They had to agree with him there. He did have a point. If they could get Soundwave to trust them, he might open up a little. But that was a really big might. They knew that it could backfire on them if they weren't careful.

Still glowering, Sideswipe carefully reached down and picked Dawn up as he gave the Decepticons a wary, unsatisfied look. "Fine. I'll go with you on this, Optimus Prime, sir. But if he comes near Dawn, I won't be condoned for my actions against him." He growled before turning away with Sunstreaker.

"Sides." Dawn sighed, shaking her head. But she was ignored.

Optimus sighed, himself but he nodded. He looked around at everyone else, noting that some of them were agreeing with him and the others weren't. This was getting quite stressful with all of the doubts. He didn't like it. But he couldn't blame any of the Autobots for being so tense around the Decepticons. He knew he couldn't let his guard down for one moment around Soundwave. The Communications Officer may have just been into espionage and surveillance but he was a very dangerous enemy to have. He just hoped that they wouldn't remain enemies for a while until they sorted everything out.

"All right. Ratchet and Jolt are still working on Starscream, so they will continue to do that. Prowl," The Prime said, looking at his Second in Command. "You will be in charge."

"And what about us?" Barricade growled, mostly eyeing Soundwave. He was not too pleased to have been told to remain on the Autobot base.

Soundwave saw Optimus glance at him as if expecting an answer, himself. The Communications Officer just nodded before he turned his burning gaze onto Barricade and the rest of the Decepticons. "You will remain behind on the Autobots' base. I will expect there won't be any trouble between each group. Groundhog," He paused, looking at the Decepticon. "You might as well go join Ratchet and Jolt to repair Starscream."

Groundhog just nodded as he glanced at Optimus to see if there were any objections. He didn't receive any so he started to head to the medical lab to assist the two Autobot Medics.

"All right. Everyone, we roll out in ten minutes." Optimus Prime said as he looked around.

Within ten minutes, there was a convoy of Autobots and a Decepticon rolling down the highway as fast as they could. They had less than two hours to reach Denver, Colorado if they wanted to beat the two new Autobots while in their Earthbound. It took precisely one hour and forty five minutes for them to reach Denver, Colorado at the speed they had been going. They arrived with only fifteen minutes left before the two new Autobots came down. They could barely see the two Cybertronian pods starting to breech the atmosphere.

It was actually a good thing that they had arrived at least a little early because the landing would most likely take right in the center of the Denver Football Stadium. And there being a football game wouldn't make things easy.

At the immediately arrival, Optimus had Lennox, Epps, Vladimir and Reno quickly inform the announcers about what was about to happen and to have them evacuate the hundreds of football fans. Not too many people were happy about the game being postponed. But there were a lot of people who were happy to see the Autobots. Hundreds of people were talking excitedly or cheering the moment that all of the Autobots had transformed and were standing in the middle of the Stadium. Even both teams, the Denver Broncos and Pittsburg Steelers didn't seem to mind as long as they got to see the beings.

Mostly, the Autobots ignored all of the cheering humans and stared up at the oncoming Cybertronian pods falling towards them. But Soundwave was looking around rather warily. He was not used to people cheering and pointing at him without being afraid. He'd picked up the fact that they thought he was an Autobot and that would have had him growling viciously at all of them. But he chose to do his best to ignoring them like the Autobots were.

"All right." Hound said looking from between his arm computer and up at the two approaching pods. "They should be crash landing in about five minutes."

Optimus Prime just nodded before looking around. "We need to slow them down to avoid any destruction of this stadium. Jetfire, do you mind flying up there and slowing them down?" he asked the Legendary Seeker. Jetfire shook his head as he leapt up into the air before transforming and blasting off towards the two pods. "Everyone, even if Jetfire slows them down, there could be a little damage. We need to avoid any damage possible. Any ideas?"

No one really spoke. They couldn't think of any ideas really.

But then Soundwave reached over and tapped Optimus' shoulder before pointing his other claws to a very large Denver Bronco Flag. Everyone lit up in surprise, knowing exactly what he had in mind.

"Oh, man." Dawn groaned, shaking her head in pity. "Do we really have to?"

Sides chuckled as he glanced down at her sitting on his shoulder before he lightly shrugged his other shoulder. "She's a Denver Broncos fan. Even though, they suck." He said, raising a metal eyebrow at her.

Dawn only pouted but didn't respond.

Optimus just nodded as he looked around at everyone. "All right! We'll use the flag to catch the two in their landing to avoid extensive damage! " He quickly moved over to where the Broncos flag was stretched across, grabbing one end and tugging it off. He glanced over to see Ultra Magnus quickly moved forward and grabbed the other end, tugging it free. "All right! Let's try and stretch it as far as it will go under the two! Jetfire! Try to aim them directly at the flag!" He called to the Legendary Seeker in the air as he collided with one of the Cybertronian pods.

'Got it!' Jetfire replied right back through the commlink.

Everyone else stationed their selves behind the flag, wiling to help catch the pods from causing any damage. The humans were standing at the other side of the football field to avoid being in the way. They certainly didn't want to be accidentally stepped on while the Autobots tried to catch the two arrivals.

From above, Jetfire quickly collided with one of the new Autobots and reversed his thrusters to slow it down. It almost sent both of them off course but he managed to stray it back on track, aiming for the large flag.

As soon as he managed to slow it down, Jetfire let go and dove for the other one, grabbing a hold of it and tried to slow it down. He did the very same thing with it before letting it go and fall after its companion right into the flag.

Optimus and Magnus both braced their selves as soon as the two Cybertronians landed in the center of the flag, causing them to jerk from the impact as they tried to catch them. They were fairly surprised when several tentacles twisted around the flag, helping them catch the two new Autobots in their pod forms. Both Optimus and Magnus twisted around to see Soundwave bracing himself as he helped them. Even with some of the other Autobots eyeing him suspiciously as he was driven back a little across the football field.

But barely stopping before he could crash into the stadium seats, Soundwave carefully helped Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus lower the Cybertronian pods to the ground, even with the flag starting to burn from the extensive heat raising right off the hot metal. Everyone ignored the almost painful groan from Dawn as she watched the flag burn, while Sideswipe and Sunstreaker mocked sympathy for her, teasing her a little. She glared at both of them for it.

Finally standing around the two hot lumps of metal, the Autobots and the humans watched gears and wheels shift as the two new Autobots began to transform into their bipedal form.

"Hound, do you know who these two are? I'm not getting a reading from them quite yet?" Optimus said, looking at the Autobot IT.

The metallic green Autobot frowned deeply as he tried to scan the two new Autobots, shaking his head. "Well, they're Autobots. But it seems that some of their systems are down. I still can't tell who they are. But I'm trying to….." His eyes suddenly widened before his face fell. "Oh…..no." He groaned.

Everyone frowned as they looked at him. They didn't understand why he suddenly sounded disgusted.

That is until the two quite short Autobots stood up, accidentally knocking their heads together as they moved in unison.

"OWWW! Watch you're goin', you ugly stupid!" One shouted.

"Why don' yo' watch where you're goin', ugly idiot! Yo' the one who slammed yo' head into me!" The other one shouted as he roughly shoved the other.

A twin of high pitched squeals suddenly rang throughout the entire football stadium, causing all of the humans to jump and look up at the horrified looks on Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's faces. They then noticed that they were not the only ones who looked horrified. Even Hot Rod looked horrified, while Ironhide, Ultra Magnus and Jetfire looked disgusted at the two now fighting Autobots as they shoved each other and argued back and forth. Optimus Prime, Elita One, Hound, and Red Alert just eyed the two fighting Autobots almost dully while Soundwave had his head tilted the side with a raised metal eyebrow.

"Ya freakin' stupid idiot! Quit hittin' me in the face!" One of the new arrivals shouted as he gotten punched in the face by the other one.

"What the heck? Who are these guys?" Trent asked, looking alarmed as he watched the two continue their shoving contest and attempting to punch each other.

"Skids, Mudflap, will you two just knock it off!" Ironhide suddenly exploded as he wrenched himself in between the two as they started a slapping fight next. He grabbed both of them by the heads and kept them apart as they tried to keep slapping each other.

"Oh…..my…Primus." Dawn said in alarm as she eyed the two. She looked up at Sideswipe and Sunstreaker as they continued to look at the other two with horror and disgust. "The other twins? The ones you told me about? The ones you said that Ratchet called slagging, malfunctioning piles of scrap metal?" She asked him.

That seemed to get the other twins' attention and they both looked down at her before pulling their selves away from Ironhide and glowered at her. "Hey! Human chick! We ain't no slagging malfunctioning piles of scrap metal!" One glowered at her.

The other nodded as he jabbed a finger towards Dawn, almost too close to her that she had to leapt backwards to avoid getting hit. "Yea! We the cool ones! So watch your little mouth 'afore I decide to….!" He was saying.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash of metal as Sideswipe came up right behind that one and yanked his arms behind his back, nearly sending him crashing to the ground. There was another crash of metal as Sunstreaker did the same to the other one. Only he whapped that one over the head with his hand.

"OW! Wha' that for, Sunny?"

"Sideswipe! Tha' hurts, mech!"

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker both glared at the twins they were holding onto with painful grips. They were not happy one second on the way these twins talked to Dawn, more or less, that Skids had nearly jabbed Dawn with his finger. "You will watch how you talk to Dawn, both of you!" Sides snarled at both of them.

Sighing heavily, Optimus shook his head while only a few of the other Autobots snickered as they watched the Corvette twins handling the Malfunctioning twins. "Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, release Skids and Mudflap." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Not until they apologize to Dawn, sir." Sides growled, forcing Skids to look Dawn.

"OW! OW! OW! All righ'! I'm sorry, mech! I didn' mean anythin'! I was on'y kiddin'!" Skids yelped.

"Yea! Yea! Me neither!" Mudflap squealed before getting tossed to the side by Sunstreaker. "OW!"

Skids soon joined his twin brother, crashing on top of him while the other twins stood over Dawn with their arms folded like body guards, glaring at them.

"Geez. Sides and Sunny really don't like those two, do they?" Epps said, looking from one set of twins to the other repeatedly.

Ironhide and Ultra Magnus both groaned and shook their heads as they watched two new twins clamber to their feet, banging against each other again. That only started them bickering and fighting again for smacking into one another. "Nope. None of us does. And you're about to find out exactly why we don't like these two sons of glitches."

"AHHHHHH!" Skids and Mudflap suddenly screamed.

Everyone jumped and looked back at them, watching as they scampered backwards and trip over one another as soon as they saw Soundwave still hovering behind everyone. They jabbed their fingers towards him as they continued to trip over their own feet. "AAAHHHH! It's a stinkin' Con! Shoot it! Shoot it!" Skids exclaimed.

"Aw, mech!" Mudflap squealed as he twisted and shifted his arm into his cannon before attempting to fire.

Soundwave did not even flinch as he watched that twin trip over his feet again and the Energon blast hit his twin brother instead, right in the aft. He just watched dully as Skids yelped in pain as he clapped both hands on his back side, jumping up in the air. He wasn't even amused as he watched that twin spin around and hit his brother over the head. He just turned his burning but dull gaze onto Optimus as if asking him, "really? Are you serious?" in a very bored way.

"Yo, man! You shot me in the aft!" Skids shouted as he repeatedly hit his twin brother.

"Ow! Ow! Yo, Skids! Quit hittin' me! That hurts!"

"Of course it hurts, stupid genius! It's called me beatin' ya up!"

Again Optimus sighed and shook his head. He seriously looked embarrassed by these two's actions. And all Elita One could do was pat him on the shoulder as she shook her own head. All of the humans were just watching the two new twins beat on each other, alarmed to the very second.

"Ah, man. These guys are crazy." Sam said, as watched the two.

"You have no idea just how crazy they really are." Hot Rod sighed as he folded his arms. "And you have no idea just how crazy they're going to drive everyone. Let's just hope Optimus won't...I mean, will stop one of the Cons from killing them when these two nutballs drive them crazy. I'm surprised Soundwave isn't trying to yet. And I know for a fact that if there was two Autobots that Barricade hated most besides Bumblebee or me, it's them!"

For some reason, everyone had a feeling that things were just going to get worst because of these two new Autobot arrivals.

Now if only they hadn't been too preoccupied to getting the new twins to stop fighting, they would have at least sensed or heard the very distant rumbles of a jet engine hundreds of feet above them, in the clouds.

TFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTF

Minicon Designation: Jetstorm reporting.

Location: Denver Colorado airspace.

Reporting sign of Decepticon traitor Soundwave. Decepticon Soundwave is currently among enemy Autobots. It appears that he may be allied with Autobots as of now. Possible scenario. Decepticon traitors: Soundwave, Barricade, Groundhog, Skywarp, Ravage, Rumble, Reedman, Buzzsaw, Laserbeak and Starscream have turned to Autobots for assistance. Awaiting further orders.

…

…..

….

..

.

Minicon General Destination: Obsidian, responding.

Return to base. The Fallen decrees a meeting with all Decepticons and Minicons. We will await for the spy's reports. Our Decepticon spy will report the Autobots' future activities and then we will decide when to strike. Obsidian out.


	18. Community Service

The moment that Optimus Prime, Soundwave and the Autobots returned to the base, things were almost just as tense as ever. They could almost taste the tension on the air as they entered the base and found a few of the Autobots having a stand off with some of the Decepticons. It was mostly Barricade facing off with Prowl, both glaring at one another. They sure didn't look too happy with one another and it had everyone wondering what was going on.

"Prowl, stand down!" Optimus Prime immediately said as soon as he transformed.

"Barricade! Report!" Soundwave barked, glaring at the Decepticon Police cruiser.

Both Cybertronians disguised as police cars tore their glares away from each other to look at their leaders before they stepped back and glared at each other again. They didn't really say anything for a moment as they glared at one another.

"I caught this Decepticon trying to go into the Medical facility." Prowl finally admitted as he looked at Optimus. "Of course, I had to stop him."

"And I don't see why I can't go in there! I just wanted to check on Starscream! Make sure those fragging medicbots of yours weren't tearing him into pieces instead of fixing him!" Barricade snarled.

Sighing, Optimus merely glanced at Soundwave who was glaring at Prowl next. He realized that Barricade had a point. He was only a little concerned about his fellow Decepticon and wanted to make sure nothing happened to him. But then again, Prowl did have a point too. He knew very well what would have happened if Barricade interrupted Ratchet and Jolt as they worked on Starscream. "Prowl, it's all right. You can stand down now." He told his Second In Command, who immediately relaxed. He looked at Barricade next. "Barricade, it would be better if you didn't go into the medical lab. Ratchet tends to get a little annoyed when he's interrupted during his work. He is not unknown to throwing something if someone bugs him without a real cause."

Barricade gave the Prime an acid like look. "And what's more a real cause than checking up on our Decepticon leader, eh, Prime?" He demanded. "I just wanna make sure he isn't dead! And if he was, I wanted to confirm it! If Starscream's dead because of your Medicbots, there's no reason why we should be here, pretending to be fragging allies with you, Autobot punks!" He growled.

"Barricade." Soundwave warned.

"NO!" Barricade barked at the Communications Officer, earning a very dark look indeed. "I know for a fragging moment that you're thinking the same thing, Soundwave! So is everyone, here!" He motioned to all of the Decepticons as they crowded around him. "We're stuck with these goody-two shoe Autobots all because of that fragging moron Galvatron turned on us! All because of that Planet sucking pitspawn, Unicron! And since we've donned Starscream our leader, I think we have a right to know what his condition is!" He turned back to Optimus, ignoring the glares he was getting from almost all of the Autobots. "So, what's it, Prime? Is Starscream dead or is he still alive?"

"For the love of Primus! Will you shut up already?" came the very irritated voice of Ratchet as he entered the room. He had heard some of the outburst between Prowl and Barricade from before and had tried to ignore it. But he couldn't ignore it any more. He gave Barricade the most irritated look before shaking his head as he looked between Optimus Prime and Soundwave, heaving a sigh. "Starscream's in critical condition. He's heavily damaged as you know. But I've got him basically stabilized. Or at least I have fixed his Spark chamber. It nearly ruptured three times and that's not a good thing."

All Autobots and Decepticons tensed up when they heard that and it made many of the humans wonder exactly what that meant.

"What do you mean, his Spark chamber nearly ruptured?" It was Reno to ask.

Ratchet glanced down at him before shaking his head, looking grim. "I mean, he basically nearly had a heart attack. But the problem is, when our Spark chambers rupture, it's highly likable that it would explode. And if a Spark explodes, you want to be well away from it. The explosion of a Spark rupture is highly dangerous. The first time, I should have set off the alarms and had the Base evacuated. But I didn't because Jolt managed to use his own Spark chamber to help stabilize Starscream's. It's kind of like jumper cables between cars. He kept Starscream's Spark going by using his own electricity. It worked for a little while. He's still hooked up to Starscream until I can get a new casing for his Spark chamber. But the next time that Starscream's Spark chamber ruptures, we might not be so lucky." He told them.

No one liked the sound of that. To think that Starscream's Spark chamber could explode at any time if it wasn't repaired soon, it was very scary. And it clearly showed on Spitfire and Dawn's faces as they thought about it.

But the one question that had some of the humans wanting to ask was soon asked by Epps as he narrowed his eyes cautiously. "So, say if Starscream's Spark chamber did explode. How big would the explosion be?"

Ratchet just shook his head as he glanced at him. "It actually varies on how bad the damage is to the Spark chamber. But after analyzing the damage on Starscream's Spark chamber, it could blow half of this entire base to pieces and many people could be killed or injured by the explosion." He told them.

That definitely had everyone uneasy.

"Uh…..it's not going to explode any time soon, is it?" Trent asked alarmed.

Scoffing, Ratchet looked at him and shook his head. "Not if I can help it. Like I said, Jolt is able to keep Starscream's Spark stabilized as long as he uses his electricity. And as long as I get new casings for his Spark chamber, he should just be fine." He stated.

Hot Rod just snorted as he rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his metal chest. "Or we could just let Dawn near him and he'll be good." He said, without really thinking and mostly joking as it was.

Still, it caught everyone's attention and made more than half of the Autobots shoot the young Spy Changer a dark look. "HOT ROD!" Several yelled at him, making him jump, then wince when he realized what he just said. In front of the Decepticons.

The Decepticons all had glanced at Hot Rod before frowning and looking around at the Autobots as if trying to read their processors or wait for someone to answer then unasked question. They hadn't missed what Hot Rod said at all but they didn't really understand. Soundwave looked right at Optimus as if he would explain.

But it was right at that moment did Secretary Keller walk into the room with Banachek and a still annoyed looking Simmons, carrying an armful of files. "Optimus Prime." The Secretary called out to him.

"Whew. Saved be the Sec Def." Hot Rod muttered under his breath, obviously looking embarrassed for his little slip up. That is until Sideswipe and Sunstreaker slapped him upside the head, hard. "OW! I'm sorry!" He pouted.

Optimus just turned his full attention onto Keller, bending over him a little. "Yes, John. What is it?" He asked him, glad that the Sec Def had showed up before things got a little too out of hand. He knew very well that it was better not to let the Decepticons know about Dawn's little predicament. Who knew what the Decepticons would do if they ever found out that Dawn was harboring All Spark energy? It was a miracle that nothing had happened yet.

Keller just merely glanced at the Decepticons, wondering if he should even mention the new situation in front of them but then he just shrugged and figured he didn't care. "Optimus, remember that request you made a week ago? About everyone getting off the base and finding activities to do?" He asked him, noting as many Autobots perked up to that. He waited only briefly for Optimus to nod before holding up the files. "Well, I've talked to the President and the UN about an idea and they've come up with some of their own ideas. We are going to give all of you, Autobots, jobs to do that lets you interact with the public."

Everyone frowned in surprise as they just stared at him. Even some of the humans had to stare at him with surprise.

"Jobs? What do you mean, jobs? Do you mean putting the Autobots to work?" Epps asked, raising an eyebrow.

Keller mere shook his head and then shrugged as if he was considering putting it that way. "More like community service. The Autobots can interact with all kinds of people in the workforces. Like," He paused to motion to Inferno, who looked a little perturbed about being the first one to be motioned to. "Inferno, since you're basically an Emergency response vehicle, you can interact with some of the Fire Departments. Help out with fire safety and such as that." He then motioned to Prowl, who straightened up as stiff as he could go. "Prowl, some of the Police Departments could use some reorganizing. I know of a few that can use a good officer on the force." He looked over at Red Alert, who lift his head. "Red Alert, you're a Search and Rescue vehicle. People are always getting lost in the Grand Canyon or out in the wilderness. Some of them even get hurt while out there because they're not paying attention to what they're doing." He told all of them before shrugging again. "The point is, each and everyone of you can be out there, getting to know the public. Let people see you. Interact with them. Help the people of Earth. That's the only way you can earn people's trust."

Slowly, Optimus nodded as he thought about it. He saw Keller's point. And it was not a bad idea at all. It was actually a really good idea. "I think we can consider that." He looked around at all of his Autobots, who considered it before most of them nodded. They were agreeing with the idea.

Now, as for the Decepticons…

Optimus looked cautiously towards Soundwave and the Decepticons, wondering if he should try suggesting to them about the community service idea. It would give them a chance to actually see the side of humans that the Autobots were seeing. And just maybe, they might learn how to like humans.

But that was a very big maybe.

Unfortunately for Optimus, before he could even make the suggestion, the Decepticons figured it out. Barricade made a very loud disgusted sound before shaking his head. "Oh, frag no! No! Pit no! We are so not going to help humans!" He exclaimed. "Are you fragging serious?"

Optimus looked at Soundwave, who looked just as skeptical as Barricade and the other Decepticons. He could tell that it wasn't going to sit too well with the idea of helping humans with him either. "It might serve you well to know that there's not a whole lot of things to do on the base. Every one of my Autobots have been extremely bored since we've been exposed. They have had hardly anything to do at all. You'll more than likely get bored of just waiting around for Ratchet to fix Starscream." He warned them, lightly.

Soundwave continued to eye Optimus with some skepticism before he looked around at the Decepticons. "Optimus Prime, you know very well how we see humans. We do not like them at all. By the Earth way of saying it, putting us with humans will be like putting cats among mice." He told him dryly.

"Yeah? Well, don't go complaining to Optimus when you got nothing to do within the next few days then, Soundwave." Ironhide said sarcastically, though he wasn't like the idea of putting the Decepticons anywhere near the humans either. But he, like several others, did see why Optimus wanted to get them to join them in community service to humans.

Soundwave frowned at him, not liking the way he talked to him. He was quiet for a long moment before he heaved a blow horn like sigh and looked at the other Decepticons. "Decepticons, we'll be joining in with this…..community service. We might as well see what exactly the Autobots find so interesting about humans." He told all of them.

"UGH! Are fragging kidding me, Soundwave?" Barricade roared in disgust.

Giving the Decepticon the darkest look, Soundwave swung around to face him. "Do you have a problem with that, Barricade?" he asked dangerously.

"PIT YES I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT!" Barricade roared, throwing his claws up into the air. "ARE YOU FRAGGING SERIOUS? YOU WANT TO PLAY AROUND WITH THE FRAGGING HUMANS?"

Everyone glared at the police cruiser, while Soundwave was starting to give him a very intensive glare. They knew that if Barricade didn't shut up pretty soon, he was going to get dismantled. Eventually, Groundhog threw an arm around Barricade's neck and put him into a loud banging head lock while nodding to Soundwave. "We're in, Soundwave. Let Barricade rant and rave all he wants, but he'll do it."

A very loud string of Cybertronian curse words bellowed out right into Groundhog's side while Barricade was struggling to get out of his grip. But the tow truck kept a tight hold on him and muffled his cursing until the black and white Decepticon finally calmed down.

It didn't mean he didn't stop muttering about the whole thing.

But Nemesis Strika folded her large arms and shook her head. "You can dismantle me all you want, Soundwave." She said coldly before turning away. "I'm not helping these disgusting creatures. I'll take boredom any time before helping them." She ground out before stomping off.

Soundwave glared after her but he chose to ignore her. He would deal with her later when he had the chance. But for now, he turned to Optimus and nodded. "The Decepticons are at your service." He said, even though he didn't sound any happier than the other Decepticons were about the whole thing. "Don't worry about Nemesis Strika. She won't be a problem."

Optimus just nodded as he watched the large smoky black and gray Decepticon continue to march away. He was definitely going to need someone to keep an eye on her either way or not. But for now, he turned to Keller and nodded. "Autobots and Decepticons are open to suggestions, John. Tell us what you would like us to do and we'll get on it." He told him.

"Okay. Well, for starters," Keller said, looking at the top file. "This one is for Prowl and…" He paused to give Barricade a cautious look. "Barricade. They can start with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. They are in serious need of help because of the crime rates there. They could also use a little help with the Communications program, Soundwave." He said, looking at the largest Decepticon, who tilted his head away from him as if eyeing him skeptically. "They kind of need an update on their Communications systems. And you are….well, an expert on that, aren't you?"

"Affirmative." Soundwave's only answer was, if not a little dry.

Keller just nodded, clearing his throat as if a little uneasy with how the Decepticon Communications officer was eyeing him. He shrugged as he looked at Prowl instead, since Barricade was also glaring at him for his suggestion. "Prowl, if it's all right Optimus and Soundwave, I'll leave you in charge of that. Have Barricade help you." He then lowered his voice a little. "And have Soundwave keep an eye on Barricade." He mostly muttered to himself.

A few Autobots snickered while Barricade glared at the Sec Def even harder. He chose not to respond because he could feel the burning glare of Soundwave, who was a little amused with how Keller had said that.

"Now, Inferno," Keller went on, looking towards the Autobot who straightened up like a soldier awaiting for orders. "There's been an increase of arson cases in Phoenix, Arizona. As it is around this time, there are constant fires there. So they could use a little help. I've already talked to the Phoenix City Fire Chief and he's agreed to let you help them. That is if you're up to it?"

"I'm on it." Inferno's direct answer came immediately.

Keller just smiled and then looked over at Red Alert. "Red Alert," He began, which the Autobot straightened just like Inferno had. "There are several cases for Search and rescue but right now we're going to keep you close to the base. There are constantly people getting lost while hiking the Grand Canyon. So if it's all right, I'd like you to work with the Grand Canyon Search and Rescue Team to keep an eye on the entire park."

Red Alert nodded as he gave Keller a sharp salute. "I would be honored, Mr. Secretary. I've seen many safety hazards as it is. If you would like, I can help upgrade the safety for the Grand Canyon National Park. That way, humans won't have to get lost or hurt while enjoying the activities of…." He was going to go on but Optimus cleared his throat and he smiled sheepishly.

"That would be great, nonetheless." Keller said, chuckling. "Thank you, Red Alert."

"Oh, great. You got him started." Ironhide grumbled.

"How about me? Ya got anything that I can do?" Cliffjumper asked, cheerfully.

Keller paused for a moment before looking over all of the files before shrugging. "Well, there are some cases. Even though you're not a Safety and Protection vehicle, there have been some dangerous illegal road races going on in Tucson, Arizona. Perhaps you, Flare-Up, Chromia and Moonracer can deal with those. Put an end to it or just keep an eye on the racers to make sure they don't get hurt or hurt someone in the process."

Cliffjumper and the four femmes looked at one another before they all nodded in agreement. They turned their attention back onto Keller smiling and giving him a nod. "Okay! We're on it!" He replied.

Keller continued to look through his files before making a face. "Well, there are some cases for Ratchet, but seeing that he's a little busy at the time trying to deal with Starscream," He looked up at Groundhog. "You're not exactly a Emergency Response vehicle, Groundhog. But you are a medic. Would you mind…?" He was saying.

Groundhog immediately shook his head and held up a hand. "It will be fine, human. I would very much like to help Ratchet work on Starscream but if you are short of assistance," He made a look at the very word. "I can lend you my aid."

"Thank you then. Mostly, I just need you to go through some of the Hospital and Emergency care facilities, check up on some of the patients they may have and see if you can't see something that you can help with." Keller explained. "See if you can spot anything that could use upgrades and such. It won't be that much to do, but it may give you something. That way, you won't have to travel too far from the base. Just in case if Ratchet and Jolt does need your help with something."

"All right." Groundhog merely stated.

"And for the rest of us?" Bluestreak asked.

Keller made a face as he looked at all of the files before sighing. "I should have put more thought into this." He grumbled to himself. "I think at the most part that everyone can do is just drive around and see if any one needs assistance. Just make appearances. See if any Trucking Agencies could use any help." He mostly glanced at Optimus and Ultra Magnus for that one. Both just nodded, though Magnus had spared a glance towards Rex. "As for the younger Autobots; the twins," he paused when both sets of twins perked up. "Um…..Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, Bumblebee, Spitfire, Hot Rod, and such. You mostly should just keep an eye on the kids. Since we're going to have problems with the new threats, the Decepticons and Minicons as well as the Department Agents, they will need as much protection as they can get. So I won't pull you away from that."

Everyone just nodded at the ideas. They were something at least. It would give them something to do.

"And…..what would you like me to do?" Skywarp piped up, though sounding very weary. He didn't care for helping out with this whole Community Service idea. He just wanted to be near Starscream instead of going out and helping a bunch of fleshlings.

Keller looked at him but shook his head. "As for right now, I don't have very much for you or Jetfire. We will need to keep an eye out for your…..former companions and make sure they don't cause too much trouble. But at the most part, I know fully well that you would rather stay close to Starscream. So, unless anyone objects, I'm just going to let you do that." He looked at Ratchet as if asking him the most about the idea.

Ratchet just shook his head and waved a hand at Skywarp. "That's fine. I may need Skywarp's help anyway. I'm not used to working on Seekers that much as it is. I could use his help by allowing me to scan his entire frame and help put Starscream back together." He announced.

Slightly cheerier, Skywarp bound after the Autobot Medic and everyone just shook their head.

"All right! Since we have something to do now, let's get to it." Optimus said. "Autobots, erm…..Decepticons, roll out." He stated.

And they got to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note:
> 
> There will be another series that will be showing up very soon that deals with the Community Services that the Autobots and Decepticons end up doing. Some of them will explain a few things that will sort of show up in later chapters. So if you're curious about the Community Services that the Autobots and Decepticons end up doing, keep a look out for those stories. They will be up very soon.


	19. Unsteady Partnerships

Driving behind a stiff in the aft Autobot like Prowl and in front of a temperamental aftpipe like Soundwave was not Barricade's idea of a good time. He would have given anything to be anywhere else but with them right now. Not with Mr. Stiffbot and Mr. Stiffercon.

But unfortunately, he'd been forced into this and he WAS NOT happy one single bit.

Barricade kept most of his muttering to himself while following behind Prowl and Soundwave had to snap at him a few times to keep him from using his front bumper claws to jab right into the Autobots back bumper as he went on and on about the protocols of a police officer. Prowl was going and on and on explaining that there were rules that the Decepticon had to follow and basically told him that he couldn't be too grumpy with the humans they were going to work with. Barricade was seriously about to snap if Prowl kept telling him all of the things that he already knew about behind a slagging human cop. But it did not help when Soundwave told him to just listen and bear with Prowl.

"Oh, for fragging sakes! Alright already! Just shut up!" Barricade finally snapped after Prowl seemed to have forgotten his place and started over to explaining to him. "I know how to be a fragging cop! I can read the slagging rule book off the internet! You don't have to keep telling me!"

Prowl growled his engine in irritation. He really hated being interrupted while he was talking. It was one of his worst pet peeves ever. "Fine. But the number one rule that you better follow is," He ignored the growl from Barricade and the growl that Soundwave gave the other Decepticon. "Be nice to the human police officers."

"oh frag this! I'm done! I'm going back!" Barricade growled, now slowing down and getting ready to make a U-turn to go back the way they had come. "I'll take boredom any time other than listening to this stinking, stupid, glitching Auto…..!"

Suddenly, there was a loud metallic crunch as metal banged against metal, making Prowl slam on his brakes as he looked back at what just happened. He heard a string of profanities explode right out of Barricade's voice processor and it only took the Autobot Security Chief to realize that Soundwave had rear-ended the Decepticon Police Cruiser, on purpose.

"Slaggit, Soundwave! What the frag was that for?" Barricade roared angrily.

"Keep going after Prowl or next time I'll do it harder until your bumper falls off. And then I will dent your doors. And then I will give Ratchet permission to lock you in alt-mode so that you will be stuck in that form for a very long time." Soundwave growled viciously at him.

"Big deal! I'll get Groundhog to unlock me!" Barricade snapped right back at him.

"Not if I order him not to."

"HEY! He's my subordinate! You can't do that!"

"And I'm the highest rank among our Decepticons right now until Starscream is repaired and revived. So that makes you my subordinate. Now quit your glitching and get going." Soundwave ordered very calmly, though there was a dangerous edge to his tone.

Very grumpily, Barricade straightened himself back out on the road and continued to follow Prowl, who sighed wearily. The Autobot knew that this was going to be a very long mission to fulfill with the two Decepticons nipping and snarling at each other every ten minutes. He was starting to wonder if this was even a good idea.

It was about an hour later before the three reached Las Vegas. Prowl and the two Decepticons drove through the heavy traffic with a low patience level, trying to reach the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to meet the Chief of Police and get set up for their new jobs for Community Service. Prowl had to call ahead to let the Chief of Police know that they were just about to arrive.

So when they arrived to the Police Department, the Police Chief was already waiting outside in the parking for them. He was joined by a few other Officers who were looking quite anxious. One of the officers, a man seemed to be arguing with the Police Chief. But they stopped as soon as the three pulled into the parking lot and approached them.

Smiling warmly, the Chief of Police extended both arms to his sides as he took a few careful steps towards the three as they lined up side by side and looked at them. "Welcome, Autobots! I am Chief John Birnbraum! The Chief of Police." He told them. He was a well built human in his forties. His hair was a deep brown color, though it was peppered with gray. He was wearing a deep blue Police uniform with a black tie.

Of course, being called Autobots, both Barricade and Soundwave ground their engines in irritation. They thought it an insult to be called an Autobot. Prowl just sighed as he activated his holoform and stepped out, surprising all of the humans. He turned directly to the Chief and offered his hand. "Greetings, Birnbraum. My destination is Prowl. I was sent by Optimus Prime and Secretary of Defense, John Keller to assist you." He shook the somewhat taken aback Chief's hand before glancing over his shoulder at the two Decepticons. "And I am afraid you have mistaken my companions as Autobots. It seems that you were not briefed on their situation." He said calmly.

All of the police officers tensed up and looked a little unsure of Barricade and Soundwave now. They spied their insignia before they looked at Prowl with alarm.

"Um…..Autobot Prowl, are those…" Chief Birnbraum was asking uneasily.

"Decepticons." Barricade growled at him.

Prowl turned a dry glare onto him but then he sighed as he turned back to the Chief of Police and nodded. "Yes. I am afraid they are Decepticons. I had hoped that Secretary Keller would have explained it to you. But as it is now, I suppose I would have to." He then took a deep breath and looked serious about the matter. "There are a handful of Decepticons among us, the Autobots. They have…joined us, in a way. We have a mutual understanding with one another and they have agreed to help out with our Community Service." He ignored the sharp, sarcastic snort from Barricade as he just motioned to him and Soundwave. "This is the acting Decepticon Leader, Soundwave, a Communications Specialist. He will be helping out your Communications team. The other is Barricade. He will be joining me to help your police force." He explained.

Chief Birnbraum, still looking as hesitant as his men, and not really looking like the kind of person who did that often, just nodded. He eyed the two Decepticons for a moment before he shrugged it off. "Very well then. Welcome Autobot Prowl and Decepticons Soundwave and Barricade. I'm glad you have come to assist us. We have a lot of work to do forLas VegasCity. Why don't I introduce you to your new partners?" He asked now turning to motion to the other officers.

Prowl sensed Barricade stiffen and he knew what was about to be said before it even came out. He just groaned and dropped his face into his hand just as the explosion came out.

"WHAT? We have to partner up with humans? Oh, frag no!" Barricade roared, now starting to back away on his tires. "Forget that! I am so not partnering up with a stinking, pathetic…"!

BANG! CRASH!

There was a sudden loud sound of metal crashing into metal as Soundwave swung his large door open and slammed it against Barricade's side. Many of the officers flinched at the very sound, hissing as if they could feel it too.

"OW! SOUNDWAVE! WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT?" Barricade exclaimed.

"Shut up, Barricade. Or I will carry on my earlier statement." Soundwave said dangerously calm. He then turned his hidden eyes back to the Chief of Police. "Introduce your officers, Chief Birnbraum. We are listening."

"Uh…okay. Autobot Prowl," The Chief said, looking at the Autobot with uneasiness. He then glanced at the officer he had been arguing with earlier, who stiffly stepped forward. The officer was a middle aged man who was just as well built as he was. His hair was a graying blonde and he had a scar over one eyebrow. He was wearing the same uniform as Chief Birnbraum was, though he was topped off with a police cap. "Prowl, your partner will be Steven Perry. He's a well off officer and one of the best. He will give you all of the information you will need about your shifts and patrol areas." Chief Birnbraum said before he looked at Barricade next. "As for our other one, Barricade, well, we're setting you up with Kris Hepherr." He then glanced around, looking quite sour. "Which, she's unfortunately late."

There was uneasy pause and Prowl groaned, sensing another outburst.

"WHAT? A FRAGGING FEMALE? ARE YOU FRAGGING KIDDING ME? NO FRAGGING WAY…!" Barricade was roaring, making all of the humans tense up or cringe at his sudden rage.

There was another loud crunch of metal as Soundwave slammed his door into the other Decepticons' side, once again. Only this time, it was a lot harder, enough to dent his side.

"SOUNDWAVE!" Barricade snarled in rage and pain.

"Two little words." The Communications Officer said in a very dark tone. "Alt. Mode, Barricade."

"That's fragging three words, you son of a glitch!" Barricade growled at him. "And quit hitting me!"

Soundwave's door swung open again, but this time, with a loud squeal of his tires, Barricade roared backwards and swung around to Prowl's other side to avoid getting hit again. But it was clear that the two Decepticons were glaring daggers at each other.

Just then, there came a loud bang as the main doors to the Police Department building swung open and a woman came out. She was a lovely woman with the exception of a scar running down the right side of her face. Her hair was dark brown cut very short with long sun-toned highlighted bangs. Her skin was the color of caramel. She was wearing her dark blue pants from her police uniform with the exception of a deep blue dress shirt under a black leather jacket. Her police badge was hanging right off her belt on her hip, opposite from her handgun holster on the other side. She was very lovely, but there was a very disgruntled and grumpy look on her face as she walked down the stairs towards the group of Police officers and the three Cybertronians.

"There you are!" Chief Birnbraum scowled as he glared at her. "Kristina Hepherr, it's about time you decided to join us! You were suppose to be out here, waiting to greet the…" He paused giving Barricade and Soundwave a cautious look. "Autobot and Decepticons."

The woman's brow furrowed as she flicked her eyes to the three vehicle disguised Cybertronians before she folded her arms and stuck her hip out to the side. She eyed both Barricade and Soundwave with great skepticism. "Decepticons?" She asked almost sarcastically. "I thought they were the enemy."

Chief Birnbraum gave her a stern look as he placed his hands onto his waist and shook his head. "Well, right now, they're not. They are with the Autobots and that's all that matters. Now, you will be partnered up with one of them." He motioned to Barricade with one hand. "Meet Barricade, your new partner…." He was saying.

With a dry look on her face, Kris Hepherr shook her head. She looked just as happy as Barricade did. "Forget it, Birns. I don't need no robot to baby-sit. And I don't need a partner. I have one already." She said darkly before turning her eyes onto a growling Barricade and looked him over. "And I have a great car already."

Barricade growled louder at the word baby-sit and almost said something to counter what this human woman said about him. But a warning hiss came from Soundwave so he kept his mouth shut.

But Chief Birnbraum gave the female police officer a very dark look. "Hepherr, you will do as you are told. As for your partner, he is suspended for six months for reckless driving." His eyes widened sarcastically at her. "In YOUR car and now it is totaled. Now, I've assigned you to work with one of the….." He glanced at Barricade when he growled at him again before he could call him an Autobot again. "You will work with Barricade or you will be assigned to desk duties for the next year. Got any complaints, I can have you transferred out of here where you will be signing traffic tickets for a very long time. Want to add anything on that?"

Kris Hepherr glared dangerously at her boss but she made an impatient sigh and threw her hands up into the air as she rolled her eyes. "God! You can be such an ass sometimes, you know that, Birns?" She snapped at him.

"Yeah? Well, I'm your boss. I'm suppose to be an ass!" Birnbraum snapped back at her. "And stop calling me Birns! And quit complaining! Get to work with Barricade, now!"

Both Kris Hepherr and Barricade growled a very unhappy moan before glancing at each other almost icily.

Prowl made a face, though he was fighting himself to question Chief Birnbraum if it were not possible to have another human work with the Decepticon. He knew very well that they were probably going to bang heads and someone might just get hurt or worst.

But before he could say anything, Soundwave spoke up. "Chief Birnbraum," He spoke calmly. "Optimus Prime has explained to me that I will be working with your Communications officers. May I meet the humans I will be working with?"

Chief Birnbraum shared another glare with Kris Hepherr before he turned towards Soundwave and motioned to three other officers, who stepped up, looking quite enthusiastic about getting to work with an alien robot. "Forgive me, Soundwave. I haven't forgotten about you. You will be working with Chet Richardson, Markus Reed and Greg Butte." He told them.

"Butte?" Soundwave asked almost emotionlessly.

One of the men laughed, sounding as if he was embarrassed more than anything as he stepped forward. He was a geeky looking guy but good looking nonetheless. He had black short hair, spiked up with hair gel with red tips. He looked rather young and that had Soundwave questioning to himself if he was seriously a Police Communications Officer. Especially when he wasn't exactly wearing a police uniform. He looked more like a civilian more than an officer. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a strange yellow ball looking character, which Soundwave found on the internet known as Pac-man. He wore deep blue baggy jeans with multiple pockets on the back and front.

"Yeah, that's me. Greg Butte." The young man said, laughing pathetically. "Feel free to make fun of my name any time. I've heard all of the jokes, already."

"I don't really joke around." Soundwave said almost emotionless.

"Ain't he telling the truth." Barricade grumbled sarcastically. But mostly everyone decided to ignore him, though Kris Hepherr was giving him a dry look as she folded her arms again.

Greg Butte just shrugged as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, smiling at the large black Emergency Mobile Command vehicle. "Okay. Whatever floats your boat. I'm looking forward to working with you then, Soundwave. So's Markus and Chet. Though they're a little quieter than I am." He told him.

"How old are you, human Greg Butte?" Soundwave suddenly asked, though still quite blankly.

Laughing faintly, Greg Butte reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm twenty one. I know I look really young and I am, but I graduated the University of Las Vegas early with an M.A for Communications and Criminal Justice, and an MSCS for Computer Science. I might be young, but I got an IQ of 190, if not 195." He bragged with a shrug. "Plus I like computers. I only got this job because Chief Birnbraum begged me to do it."

"Excuse me?" Chief Birnbraum asked dryly, eyeing him just the same. "YOU, Greg, came to the LVMPD begging for the job. I only gave it to you because you're efficient at what you do. And if you were as good as you keep bragging about, we probably wouldn't have needed help from the Autobots…and the Decepticon, Soundwave. So quit bragging, Greg."

Greg Butte laughed faintly as he blushed. "Okay, okay. So I exaggerated a little bit." He grinned looking back at Soundwave, shrugging. "I'm good, but I guess we need better. Still looking forward to working with you, man." He told him.

Soundwave hummed his engine once. "We shall see if I feel the same later." He remarked, making Greg Butte's smile fade only but a little.

Prowl sighed, shaking his head. Oh, yeah. This was going to be a very long mission.

TFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTF

The drive to Phoenix, Arizona could have seriously gone better. Especially when he drove half the way with Cliffjumper, Flare-Up, Chromia, and Moonracer. He didn't mind Chromia and Moonracer at all. But it was the other two that were getting on his nerve wires. They were constantly racing ahead and stopping to wait for the other three to join them. He was not sad to see the four motorcycles go their own way towards Tuscan.

Still, arriving in Phoenix to the Fire Department, Inferno was grumbling to himself about how hot it was right now. He wouldn't have complained so much but his tires seriously felt like they were going to melt against the hot pavement.

The Fire Chief of the Phoenix Fire Department was waiting outside the building, arguing with a young man. They weren't exactly having the best conversation. Inferno had slowed down a little as he approached them and overheard only just a little. It sounded like the young man was a beginning firefighter who was possibly a loose cannon. The Fire Chief was lecturing him about something that the man had done on the last fire rescue exercise they had done a few days before.

"Oh, come on, man! I didn't mean to do that! It wasn't like I meant to kick in the door with Johnson right behind it! He shouldn't have been in the way!" The young man cried out, throwing his hands into the air.

The Fire Chief, a man in his thirties, shook his head as he placed his fists onto his waist. "Tomas, you have got to stop making excuses! I know you and James haven't been getting along since you've gotten here…" He was saying.

"Dude, Victor! The guy has it in for me! He's been nagging at me, harassing me and saying that I need my mommy to change my diapers just because I'm the youngest fire fighter on the team! Tell that old man to shove it up his….." He was saying.

"You finish that sentence, Tomas, and you're going to be on cleaning duty for the next three weeks." The Fire Chief remarked dryly. He then noticed Inferno starting to drive up, though doing so very slowly so that he wouldn't interrupt. "Look, Tomas. I will talk with James about his attitude towards you and try and put it to a stop. But you need to stop making excuses, stop getting into fights with him and stop being a baby about everything. Now, let's greet our newest team member." He said before he turned and walked towards Inferno, smiling now. "Hi! You must be the Autobot Inferno. Nice name for the job, if you ask me."

"Hmph." Inferno grunted as he came to a slow stop. "Thanks, I guess. Chief Victor Brown, I'm guessing?"

"That's right." The Fire Chief said smiling. He then reached up and tapped the young man beside him, he looked like he wanted to be somewhere else. "This is your youngest fire fighter, Tomas Jones. We sometimes call him T.J. Glad you could make it, Inferno. We could use all of the help we can get."

Inferno just hummed his engines. He wasn't sure what to say exactly. "When should we begin?" He asked.

"Well….right now, it's been pretty quiet. There hasn't been any fires lately. So mostly we're just going to hang out here. But later, I'm going to have Tomas show you around Phoenix, show you all of the hot spots where we get the most fires. Though, fires are always the most unpredictable disaster. You never know when or where they'll start, here in Phoenix." Chief Brown remarked with a chuckle.

The young man, Tomas, did not look happy to hear that at all. "What, are you serious? I have to show the robot around?" He asked, dryly.

The Fire Chief gave him a dry look. "What more better do you have to do besides wash the fire engines, Tomas? Besides, I'm planning on having you work with Inferno while he's with us." He then held up a finger to shut him up. "I'm not joshing around, Tomas. The reason why I want you to work with him is because you need a partner! As for all I care, Inferno, here is the expert with fire control, being an Autobot and all! You are the worst. You are to work with him, learn what you can from him while helping him with what he needs to know about what we do around here and you are going to do it without complaints. Got that?" He asked before he looked back up at Inferno. "I'm sorry to put this on you when you just got here. But the kid really needs some help getting into the swing of things. Would you mind?"

Inferno felt a groan rising right out of his voice processor. He felt as if he'd just been sent to baby sit a young fire fighter instead of doing what he thought he was going to do. But he was not the kind that backed down so easily and he didn't complain too much, even if he did it to himself.

"It will be fine, Fire Chief Brown. I don't mind." The big red and gruff Fire Engine told him, though deep inside he was grumbling. This was not going to be very fun. Especially with the impatient look that was on the human kid's face.


	20. All Spark Energy

Mostly avoiding everyone on the entire base, she had spent most of the time in her room or hitting punching bags in the Gym. But it was clear to everyone that Cole Keller did not want to be there, in the same base as her father. There had been a few times that Keller had tried to go talk to her but she had walked away from him, leaving him rather cold. She even avoided Reno when he tried to talk to her but when she couldn't avoid him, she gave him the cold shoulder.

The case was still the same as Keller, Reno and even her mother tried so much to talk to her. Cole was finally starting to get fed up that she was wondering if she should just leave. She had heard about the new case with the Decepticons and it really put her in a spin. She was completely confused of why the Government and the Autobots were actually going to trust these murderous, conniving Decepticons. But either way, she was also a little intrigued about them. Especially about the so called Leader she heard that was stuck in comatose in the Infirmary.

All little too curious, Cole made up her mind that she actually wanted to see this Decepticon Leader.

Wandering slowly into the Infirmary, she found that the Autobot called Ratchet was there with Jolt and two of the Decepticons. She couldn't even remember their names, not that she cared. She spied the large metal being that they had on a giant operating table, while the blue Autobot, Jolt was connected with him with electric wires while Ratchet was fixing something in his chest.

More or less, her arrival caught one of the Decepticon's attention.

Growling, the jet looking Decepticon held up an arm and allowed it to whirl quickly into a cannon before he pointed towards her. "Intruder!" he growled.

Every head turned to look at her with surprise before the one called Ratchet quickly grabbed the jet Decepticon's arm and yanked it upward to keep him from firing at her. "No! Calm down, Skywarp! We have rules about harming humans! More or less, pointing your cannons at them!" He scolded him, even though he was getting growled at by the Decepticon.

Cole had stiffened after having a huge cannon pointed at her but she did not flee the room like her brain was screaming at her to do. She just stood there, watching the four giant beings with a look of wary. She wasn't so sure that coming into the Infirmary was such a good idea anymore. Even if she was curious about the one that was on the table. "Did I come at a bad time?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at the Autobot medic.

Ratchet glanced down at Starscream before looking back at Cole. He couldn't help but look her over, as if looking for any injuries. She didn't appear to be hurt. "Not necessarily. I do make time for any injured humans. Is there a reason for your visit? Are you hurt somewhere?" He asked her, still looking her over.

Grimacing, Cole didn't like it when males usually looked her over. She knew it was because he was a doctor that he was doing it. But it still really bugged her. "No." She said forcefully, making him stop looking her over and back at her face. "I'm not hurt. I was bored and I just wanted to come check things out with these….." She paused giving the two Decepticons in the room a dry look over. "So called Decepticons. I thought they were the enemies, yet you're helping them. Trying to save…" She looked dryly at the pile of metal on the medical berth. "Trying to save their Leader. Are you sure you're not here for any other reasons than you're sprouting about?"

With two Decepticons growling behind him, Ratchet had to give Cole a dry look before he sighed and shook his head. "Miss Keller, I'm going to have to ask you to confine yourself from insulting Groundhog and Skywarp. All the while they are here as guests, as you are, and they are under orders to not harm any humans, I can't stop them by myself if you anger them and they choose to fire upon you." He warned her.

"Groundhog? Skywarp?" Cole asked, folding her arms and sticking out her hip. She couldn't believe the names that these alien robots came up for their selves. "You guys really have some weird names? So what's his? Sleeping Metal Thing?" She asked, nodding to Starscream.

Snarling, Skywarp almost pulled his cannon on her again. But Ratchet quickly caught his arm again, giving him a warning look. Then he turned his warning look back to Cole. "Miss Keller, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to…" He was saying.

Cole gave him a very annoyed look. If only looks could strike a metal being down. "Don't call me Miss Keller. I have not intentions in keeping that name." She said rather coldly.

"What I don't understand," Ratchet spoke up as if she hadn't said anything at all as he turned away from her and started working on Starscream again. "Miss Cole, is why you are being hostile when I am just trying to be kind to you?"

For a moment there was frost in the air as Cole glared up at him, feeling offended. But then she realized that he had a point. He was trying to be nice and she was being nasty, like she usually was. She knew that she had better tone down a little. Sighing, she looked away from him. "I'm sorry. I guess I am being a little bit of a bitch, aren't I? I'm not used to…trying to be nice." She told him.

Ratchet looked over his shoulder at her, raising a metal eyebrow. "Have you ever tried it?" He asked, though there was amusement to his tone.

In between scoffing and laughing, Cole shook her head. "No. I was around Department agents who were mostly men and thought they could hit on me any time they wanted. My bitchiness is what made them leave me the hell alone. I'm sorry for being this way to you." She said still fighting herself not to laugh or even smile.

"You are forgiven then." Ratchet said, still amused. He knew that was going to be the closest thing to her being nice that he was going to get.

Cole then looked back up at the unmovable robot on the medical berth. She frowned as her eyebrow twitched a little before she stepped closer. "So what happened to him? What's his name?" She asked, not hiding her curiosity.

Ratchet went back to working on Starscream, all the while Groundhog and Skywarp were eyeing her with warning looks. "His name is Starscream. Technically, he is the Second In Command of the Decepticons. But things were getting out of control with their lot and the Decepticons split of a handful of their kind. He is now considered the Leader of the Decepticons among the ones who rescued him from being torn apart by who we used to call Megatron. Whom is now going by a different name, Galvatron." He explained. "His injuries are rather severe and it is dangerous for humans to be in here. But since you have nothing better to do, maybe you can assist me." He turned and bent down, offering his hand. "There is a shard of metal deep within his chest cavity that I can't seem to reach. I need to pull it out so I can patch up the gash that it has caused. That may be what is keeping Starscream in stasis lock. Would you be willing to assist me with that?" He asked her.

Tilting her head, Cole wasn't sure if that was such a good idea. That would be meaning helping this Autobot medic repair probably a very dangerous robot. But she then shrugged with a short sigh. She didn't really have anything better to do. So why not?

"Fine." Came her answer before she walked over and carefully stepped up into his hand.

Ratchet nodded and carefully brought her up to the table and onto Starscream's chest. He had to pause for a moment when he heard Groundhog and Skywarp start to protest but caught their selves. He just glanced at them before shaking his head. "It will be all right, you two. I trust Miss Cole. She is one of our allies, even if a hostile one." He said, though he made a joking sound while glancing at her.

Cole smirked back at him before she looked over the one called Starscream. Her smile faded when she saw how excessive the damage was. The Decepticon was quite a mess. There were gashes in his metal frame, though Ratchet had been doing his best to patch them up. But his chest was wide open and she could see a faint blue sparking light right in the center of some kind of metal dome. She couldn't help but stare at it with wonder. She had never really seen anything like that before. It looked more like a small blue star that was just sitting right before her. She had to silently admit it to herself, but it was so…..so….

"Pretty." She found herself say out loud before she realized she had said it. She immediately felt her face flare up with embarrassment as she glanced around and found all of the alien robots staring at her with wide eyes. "Uh….."

But Ratchet hummed with amusement as he carefully set her down on Starscream's chest. "That is Starscream's Spark. Basically, it's what our hearts look like. If that ever goes out, it means he's dead. We can't let that go out." He told her before narrowing his gaze onto the glowing light. He was no longer amused but serious. "Unfortunately, he's not getting enough Energon sent to his Spark because of this shard of metal. And it is deteriorating his Spark. If we don't get that shard out, it could…" He grimaced at the very thought. "It could explode. And we don't want it to do that." He told her.

Cole gave him a wide eyed look. She was starting to get the idea of what he was trying to get at. "And that would kill him." She said though it was more of a hint of a question.

Slowly, Ratchet nodded. "That, and it could destroy this entire base, along with everyone in it." He said somewhat uneasy. "That's what I'm trying to prevent. But unfortunately, my usual human assistant, Mikaela isn't here. She had to do a few things and she is in the process of coming back to the base. But the sooner I get this injury taken care of, the better." He paused for a moment. "I understand if you choose not to do this. This is pretty risky and I know I will hear it from Optimus. But it does need to be fixed to avoid such disaster."

Taking a deep breath, Cole wasn't sure if she wanted to be there any more. She was definitely fighting herself to start running for the hills, away from this base now before something did happen. This was way too dangerous. But glancing at the motionless Starscream, she had to frown. There was something…..that was bugging her. She didn't know if she liked the idea of this thing slowly dying. She wasn't sure what it was that making her decide this.

"Okay." She muttered now looking around the wide open chest cavity. "Where is it?"

Ratchet raised a metal eyebrow at her but looked impressed. "Very well then." He looked back down at Starscream before he pointed to the inside of the Spark chamber towards a tube deep inside. It was a little far down for him to reach for but for someone smaller, like Cole, it was easy. "It's right there. I can't reach it, myself. You will need some protective gloves. Groundhog and I were able to stop the Energon from flowing through this damaged tube. But we can't be too eased by it. And if you were to touch the Energon, it might burn you." He told her, now reaching into his arm compartment and pulling out thick leather gloves. He held them out to her.

Nodding, Cole took the gloves and pulled them on and moved over to the open cavity, looking into it. She had to glance around for a moment before seeing the shard of metal sticking out of a metal tube deep down. It was a few feet away from the opening so she would definitely have to climb down a little into Starscream's chest to reach it. She took a deep breath and sat down on the robot's chest, moving a little closer. She paused once to glance at Starscream's face, as if expecting him to wake up any second and get pissed at her. But he remained motionless.

So with another shrug, she bent down as low as she could and wrapped one of her hand the shard. She had to frown when she found that it wasn't going to be an easy grip. She made an aggravated sound before having to get lower into the open chest and wrap both hands around the shard. She began to pull though carefully. She didn't want to hurt this robot any more than he already was.

Suddenly, something sparked up out of the tube at her, making her gasp and jolt backwards. "What the fu…!" She yelped, even as the spark licked out at her arm.

"Oh! Are you all right, Cole?" Ratchet asked, very concerned.

Cole frowned as she eyed the now somewhat static tube before she rubbed her arm where the electricity licked her skin. She didn't feel like she was in pain. It actually…..it actually had tickled her a little. "Yeah. I'm okay. That didn't hurt." She told him before she reached for the shard again. She had jumped again when the spark licked out at her again. But this time she didn't pull away.

Surprisingly, it did not hurt at all. It actually felt like static electricity and nothing too dangerous. It tickled her skin and she couldn't help but let her lips curve upward into a light smile.

"Maybe we should wait…" Ratchet said, now sounding very worried.

Making a face at him, Cole shook her head as she gripped the metal shard even tighter. "No. It's all right. I can take whatever this thing can throw at me. It doesn't even hurt. It actually tickles." She admitted.

All of the Cybertronians looked surprised to hear that but they didn't say anything. Cole didn't pay them any mind as she braced herself before she began pulling as hard as she could, but being careful at the same time. She gritted her teeth when it didn't want to budge. She kept pulling at it, using her back muscles all the same time. It moved only a fraction but not much. But it was sure causing more sparks to leak out and lick at her skin. She was just too glad that it wasn't hurting at all.

Eventually, Cole began wriggling the metal shard, moving it up and down, back and forth to loosen it up. It was working for the most part.

"Careful, Miss Cole. Be very careful. Even if he is made out of metal, wriggling it around like that could cause some damage to Starscream." Ratchet told her, watching very carefully at what she was doing.

Cole had to bite back the comment she wanted to say right back at him. She figured right now was not the time to be sarcastic to him when they were trying to save a life. Not that she was actually caring about this hunk of metal. She was just curious about what would happen if they saved this…..so called Decepticon Leader's life. She was curious about who he really was. What kind of alien robot that he was. She was taking a very big step here. But it still didn't help the human emotion of curiosity.

But as it was said, curiosity did kill the cat.

Finally, the metal shard began to slide right out and Cole smirked to herself as she carefully pulled it out of the metal tube.

And that's when things got very messy.

As soon as the metal shard was out, the sparks began pulsing and there was a humming sound coming from the center of the Spark chamber. Cole and the Cybertronians glanced at it, seeing that the Spark began to pulse rather violently, as well began shimmering. Sparks began lashing out of the Spark chamber, making Cole even flinch back. Only a lick of it lashed out at her and this time, it did not tickle.

"Ow!" Cole yelped now starting to scamper back a little, only to stop as her foot caught between the metal tube and the inner walls of the chest cavity. "Shit!"

Suddenly, there was a screeching roar exploded out of Starscream, making everyone jump and look at him with wide eyes. They were very surprised that his eyes had flashed on brightly, yet looked very crazed as he jerked violently. It was like he was starting to spasm out.

"Oh, slag! Cole, come away from him! Quickly!" Ratchet cried out before quickly glancing at Groundhog and Skywarp. "Hold him down! He will further his injuries! Jolt! Try to keep your electric chargers connected to him!"

Everyone nodded and quickly moved to do as they were told.

However, Cole swore when her foot got stuck between the metal. She had to drop the metal shard so she could grab her foot and try to pry it out. Ratchet had noticed and started forward to grab her and help her get loose.

But that was when Starscream roared and jolted upward, knocking all of them away. Cole half gasped, half screamed as she was thrown against his open chest, her foot still lodged in between the metal. She found herself dangling from his open chest, trying very hard not to fall the rest of the way, seeing that she would have landed on her head.

"Starscream!" Both Groundhog and Skywarp cried out, trying to move forward again to stop him from thrashing around like he was doing right now.

But once again, Starscream roared and lashed out, knocking both of them away from him. They both stumbled away from him, looking quite stunned. But as it was, they weren't the only ones. Jolt also got slapped across the face with one of his torn wings, knocking him backwards away from him. His electric chargers snapped in two as he was shoved backwards.

"Starscream!" Ratchet yelled, trying to catch his arm and get him to calm down. "Stop moving! Calm down! You're safe here!"

It did not help at all.

Starscream seemed to be in a frenzy after waking up so suddenly and being hurt like he was. He was roaring and snarling as he looked around, though his eyes were even starting to flicker as fast as his Spark was. Sparks were exploding from his chest while his Spark, in general, was violently shaking in his chest. Ratchet knew that Cole was in severe danger if she remained dangling from his chest like she was doing. He swore loudly as he tried his best to keep a hold of Starscream, trying to keep him thrashing.

"Starscream! Calm down! It's all right!" Groundhog tried. "It's me! Groundhog and it's Skywarp!"

Still, it didn't seem to get through to the Seeker.

Ratchet swore again as he did a quick scan of Starscream's Spark Chamber, even though it was a little hard because of his thrashing around. He barely saw it but he knew what was wrong with him. "Fragging son of a glitch! Cole, can you free yourself? You need to get away from him right now!" He then quickly opened up his channel to Optimus. "Optimus! We have a serious problem in the Infirmary! You need to start evacuating humans from the base! Starscream has finally awoken and his Spark chamber has ruptured!"

"Optimus Prime to Ratchet! Acknowledged! See if you can buy us some time before he explodes!" Optimus' voice boomed through their channel.

Alarms suddenly began blaring throughout the entire base, startling everyone there. Cole was still trying to pry her foot loose or at least trying not to get beat up by hanging on a thrashing robot's chest. She swore several times as she ended up smacking hard against the metal, nearly getting herself dazed. She had to throw herself upward at a bend and grab a hold of the metal tube. She swore again when she saw that it was her boot's sole that was lodged into metal, hooking it. She would have to at least pull her boot off to get freed.

But with Starscream rolling off the table and thrashing out at Groundhog and Skywarp as they tried to help Ratchet and Jolt calm him down, it wasn't easy.

Arriving at the base just as the alarms began going off, all of the young teens and their Autobot Guardians had jumped and looked wildly around at what was going on. They saw everyone there running in many directions, in quite the panic. Some of the Autobots were clambering through the large halls, barking at some of the human soldiers to get people evacuated as soon as possible.

"What the heck?" Sam gasped before having to dance backwards to avoid getting run over by a Soldier. He had to lean against Bumblebee's foot to be out of the way. "What the heck is going on here?"

No one could really answer as they looked around with wide eyes. Dawn was safely in Sideswipe's alt mode, his driver window down and looking around with alarm. Mikaela was pretty much sitting directly on Arcee's seat, her legs having to be tucked up against her chest and keeping herself balanced as people ran right past. Elena was safely tucked in Spitfire's hand, frowning in surprise as she watched the mayhem.

Then they spotted Ironhide working with Lennox and Epps, trying to give orders to all of the soldiers about the evacuation. With them, Reno was trying to help out as best as he could.

"Uncle Reno!" Mikaela called to him, waving to get his attention.

Reno quickly glanced at her before jogging over. He did not look any happier that they were here during this chaos. "You, kids, need to get out of here, right now! It's too dangerous at this second! The entire base is being evacuated!" He told them hurriedly.

"What's going on? What's happening? Is it a Decepticon attack?" Rex asked as he sat in Ultra Magnus' driver seat.

Hurriedly, Reno shook his head as he looked around at the mess that they were in. "No, it's worst. We just got word from Ratchet that Starscream's up and moving and probably pissed off and that's what's causing his Spark to rupture! He's going to explode if they can't get him under control and he's going to end up taking the base with him!" He told them.

There were several gasps, though both Spitfire and Dawn had been the loudest. They both looked the worst horrified out of the entire lot. "What?" Both screeched.

Reno shook his head, looking at them before at everyone else. "It don't matter! We don't have a whole lot of time! Autobots, you need to get the kids out of here! As far as you can before the base goes up! We don't know when it's going to happen! But it is going to happen! Get going!"

"NO!" Dawn immediately said before throwing up Sideswipe's door and getting out. She was already booking it down the hall. "I can fix this!"

"NOO!" Sideswipe yelled making a quick transformation and giving chase. "Dawn! Stop! Don't!" He called after her as he hurried after her. He was not the only one to chase after her. Sam, Mikaela, and Trent cried out before running after her.

Swearing, Reno gave chase, along with the Autobots. Ultra Magnus, however, threw open his other door just as Spitfire quickly turned to him, giving a quick word in Cybertronian, asking him to take Elena. As soon as she was in, he locked both of his doors, ignoring Elena and Rex were protesting as he quickly backed away and started to speed out of the base.

"Dawn! Stop! Don't do this!" Sideswipe cried out, rolling as fast as he could after his human girlfriend. He nearly swooped her up when she dodged around a corner that lead towards the Infirmary. He swore in Cybertronian as he skidded across the ground, leaving long black marks from his tires and rushed after her. "Dawn!"

Dawn shook her head as she kept her legs pumping, running as fast as she could until she threw herself past the medical wing doors. "Ratchet! I'm here!" She called now rushing towards Starscream.

Ratchet jumped out the sound of Dawn's voice and spun around, looking at her with wide eyes. He couldn't believe what she was doing. He knew that she knew very well that she wasn't suppose to be around any injured Cybertronians because of the condition she was in. And yet, here she was. "Dawn Jade Adams! Get out of here! You know you're not suppose to be in here!" He barked at her.

Shaking her head, Dawn chose to ignore him. She couldn't allow this to happen for two different reasons. One, the base was in danger and she knew that not everyone would get out of it before Starscream exploded and it was a possibility that a lot of people would get hurt or killed. And two, she still felt like she owed Starscream for what he had done for her nearly a year ago. He had saved her life and even allowed her to escape from him and the other Decepticons. She knew what she was doing would probably weaken her to where she was nearly dead but she didn't care right at the moment. She had others on her mind right now.

"Dawn!" Sideswipe cried out as he rushed into the Infirmary. He tried to dive for her, swoop her up and rush her right back out.

But Dawn merely glanced up at him, guilt in her eyes before rushing out of his reach towards Starscream. "I'm sorry, Sides!" She called over her shoulder. "I love you! But I got to do this!"

"NO!" Both Sideswipe and Ratchet yelled as they rushed after her.

But it was kind of too late.

Dawn ran right up to Starscream who was still in a frenzy. She hissed when she felt the burning start up in her back. The same stinging pain she had felt once before began to burn through her skin, making her cry out. She nearly hesitated before slapping her hands against Starscream's leg.

Snarling in a frenzy, Starscream whirled around, looking for whoever was touching him. He raised his claws as if to slap her across the room.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of sparks and a brilliant light began to shine right through Dawn's shirt, startling everyone. Sparks danced right off of her, making everyone flinch back to avoid getting zapped like it had been done before. Strange enough, they were immediately attracted to Starscream as if the All Spark energy sensed how badly damaged he was. They began to flood right into his metal frame, causing him to halt all actions. It was as if someone had hit a stop button on him. His crazed red eyes snapped wide open as the sparks were now running up and down his body.

Swearing up a storm, it didn't seem that Cole was sharing the same thing as he was. She felt the sparks zap her skin, making her hiss. She could only grab her boot and began yanking her foot out of it before it came free. She nearly toppled right out of his chest, yet catching herself on his sparking arm before dropping down.

A strange metallic hum filled the air as Dawn kept a tight hold on Starscream's leg, not that she really had to. Her hands seriously felt as if they were welded to his metal. The burning in her back increased viciously making her scrunch up her face in pain. She ended up dropping to her knees, still holding onto Starscream, even with Sideswipe trying to hurry forward to snatch her away. But the sparks running off of Dawn and Starscream lashed out, making him yelp and stagger backwards. He could only watch helplessly, wanting so much to come to Dawn's aid.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as the sparks began trailing right up Starscream's body until it came to his chest. The pulsing Spark in his Spark chamber was still lashing out, as if trying to escape from the chamber before the invading but healing sparks began to lick at it. Slowly, as if at ease, Starscream's Spark began to soothe, flickering less and less other than what it was suppose to be doing.

Metallic clicks and clangs rang through the air as the gashes in Starscream's entire began to mold back together. Dents snapped right back out and smoothed while bent and broken pieces of metal snapped back into place.

Starscream's eyes suddenly flashed before he blinked and began looking around as if shocked by where he was. He didn't seem to know where he was at all or what was happening. But it seemed to be dawning on him. Especially when his eyes quickly dropped down when Dawn began crying in pain. He stiffened before yanking himself away and all of the sparks diminished.

Dawn collapsed onto the ground, hissing in pain but it was surprisingly, she was still awake. Sideswipe rushed forward and dropped down above her, gathering her up into his hands. "Dawn! Oh, Primus! Talk to me, Sunrise!" He whimpered, lifting her up to his eyes.

"What the frag is going on here?" Starscream suddenly snarled, his arms spinning into cannons and began pointing them at the Autobots within the room.

But both Groundhog and Skywarp jumped forward, grabbing them and ripping them upward to stop him from firing. They still were looking wide eyed at Dawn in Sideswipe's hands, still shocked by what they had just witnessed.

For a long time, no one spoke but stared from Dawn to Starscream and then to Ratchet, who now looked like he was fuming. He was already hovering over Sideswipe, quickly scanning the young woman and making sure that there weren't any dangerous injuries she might have had. He was definitely surprised that she was still awake, if not weak by the All Spark energy transfusion she had just done. "Dawn, that was very reckless! I warned you that it might kill you next time! You are so lucky that it didn't this time!" He scolded her.

Weakly laughing, Dawn leaned against Sideswipe's fingers. Her entire body was sweating and there was a barely glow slowly dying from her back. She looked very tired and ready for some sleep but by the scans that Ratchet was getting, she seemed to be fine. "It's…..okay….." She breathed rapidly. "I….I actually….fe-feel…..fine. Stro-stronger."

"Don't you ever do that to me again, Dawn! You scared me nearly to the Matrix!" Sideswipe couldn't help but yell at her but he sounding very relieved if not weary.

Smiling up at him, Dawn laid a hand against his fingers. "I'm so-sorry, Sweetspark. Bu-but I had to…..I don't know wh-what it was. It was like…..it was like right after Reno told us….wh-what was going on….I could feel a pull. It….was…..the energy…..it knew." She said before her eyelids drooped. "So….tired….a little worn…out….." She murmured before she let her head drop and she was asleep.

For a moment, Sideswipe nearly panicked but Ratchet quickly waved a hand at him. "It's okay, Sides. She's sleeping. I am completely flabbergasted though. The scans that I just did…..yes, she's exhausted. But she seems…..completely normal. There's nothing wrong with her. I can't explain it." He told him calmly.

"Ratchet!"

Everyone turned to see Optimus hurrying into the Infirmary, along with a few others. They immediately halted in surprise to see Starscream glaring around the room at them all. "Uh…." The Autobot Leader found himself mutter. "Ratchet, what just happened?"

"WILL SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT THE FRAG IS GOING ON HERE? WHY ARE WE WITH THE AUTOBOTS? WHERE ARE WE? AND WAS THAT FRAGGING ALL SPARK ENERGY THAT JUST CAME OUT OF THAT GIRL?" Starscream roared, allowing his cannons to spin back into his arms before he crossed them and began tapping his foot impatiently.

It would have been funny if the situation wasn't so serious.


	21. A Serious Discussion

No one knew what in the world they could say after this entire mess. Everyone was too stunned, too uneased and too furious to even speak as they felt like they were looking at the Mech of Death right in the face. Of course, the look on Starscream's face could have been easily mistaken as such a person. He looked like he was going to blow up at any moment. He looked furious about the entire situation. It made all of the Autobots and humans feel nervous as they stared at the furious Decepticon.

"WELL? IS SOMEONE GOING TO EXPLAIN THIS TO ME? OR ARE YOU ALL JUST GOING TO STARE AT ME LIKE FRAGGING IDIOTS! WHY THE FRAGGING NAME OF PRIMUS ARE WE WITH THE AUTOBOTS? AND WAS THAT….!" Starscream was bellowing.

"Oh, shut up, you over-grown tin can with wings!"

Several eyes blinked and many stiffened at the very sound of someone actually had the nerve to scream and swear at Starscream, who merely blinked out of his rage and looked down. He was not the only one to have done so and everyone couldn't help but stare at Cole Keller as she sat down right on the ground, rubbing her ankle with a grimace.

"OH! Miss Cole!" Ratchet suddenly blurted out before scurrying over towards her and Starscream, who jerked and gave him a dark look for it. "Are you quite alright?"

"NO! I'M NOT FUCKING ALL RIGHT!" Cole snarled, sending him an icy look. "I FUCKING TWISTED MY ANKLE ON THAT FUCKING LANDING, TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM THAT IDIOT WHEN HE WAS GOING CRAZY!" Her head jerked towards Starscream, who looked between extremely angry, bewildered and bemused.

Grimacing, Ratchet bent down to one knee and scanned Cole's leg. He got a dark look for it but he ignored it. He looked it over for a moment before he let out a sigh and shook his head. "You will be fine, Miss Cole. We can place an ice pack on your ankle and the swelling will go down." He told her calmly.

"No, shit." Cole growled before she tried climbing to her feet, only to wince. She snapped a look at Ratchet when he used his hand to help her stand up. She did not want his help, nor did she need his help. "Don't touch me! That had been your idea of me trying to help you fix that piece of crap metal thing." She jerked her head towards Starscream, who growled, no longer amused after the insult.

"What did you say?" The Decepticon Seeker growled angrily.

Cole gave him a very cold look as she wobbled a little on her sore ankle. "What the hell do you think I said, you crazy son of a…!" She was saying.

Starscream snarled and started forward but to his sudden surprise, Groundhog and Skywarp quickly moved over and caught him by his arms and held him back. All the while, Spitfire was quick to placing herself in between him and the outrageously bold human. "Star, stop it! She doesn't know about your temper! And it wouldn't be wise to harm her anyway!" She quickly said.

Blinking a little, Starscream just looked at her before his mood turned even sourer and he yanked his arms away from his two fellow Decepticons. He sent Cole a dark look, getting one in return before he glanced around at all of the Autobots. "What the fragging pits is going on here? Why are we here with the slagging Autobots?" He demanded.

Everyone sighed, shaking their heads. They knew this was going to be very difficult even explaining. But at least, even for just a moment, Starscream seemed to have forgotten about what happened with Dawn. And hopefully, he wouldn't remember to return to the thought.

"Well…" Skywarp began, wincing when Starscream's whipped around and glared at him. "It's kind of a long story, Starscream. You see…."

"Oh, for love of…! It was Barricade's idea to bring your fragging aft to the Autobots when you were practically falling apart after what happened with Galvatron!"

Heads whirled around and saw a very annoyed looking Nemesis Strika standing in the doorway with Elita One hanging back behind her. She did not look very happy at all to see that Starscream was up and going. She didn't care either way, but it still didn't matter too much to her. She just was in a bad mood to the fact that she had to have a slagging Autobot, more or less, Elita One tailing around after her. She hated that Autobot glitch but she didn't seem to have much of a choice at all. Soundwave had made it clear that if she tried anything while he was gone, when he returned, he would rip her apart, himself.

Even though she was a rank higher than him, Nemesis Strika still would not want to provoke Soundwave. She knew him very well to be a lot stronger than her. The only reason why she was a General in the Decepticon army had been because of Obsidian. She had not gained such a title on her own, which she hated the fact to.

Starscream growled at the sight of her; all knowing that his opinion on the Decepticon Femme wasn't exactly very high. But it was mostly the fact of what she had said to him. He looked around for a moment, noting what Decepticon was there before he sharply looked at Groundhog. "What the frag happened? Who is here and why are we here?" He demanded.

"I just said…..!" Nemesis Strika snapped.

"Shut up, Nemesis Strika! I do not want to hear it from you!" The Seeker Leader snarled.

Nemesis Strika glared at him but kept her mouth shut this time. Groundhog just sighed before he began to explain everything that had been told to the Autobots. He reminded Starscream about the confrontation with Galvatron and what had happened after he ended up in Stasis Lock. He explained of how they had escaped, thanks to Soundwave and had hidden in an old oil warehouse until Barricade and Groundhog had went searching for Optimus Prime and the Autobots for help. He explained that if they had not gone to the Autobots for help, it would have been more than likely that Starscream would have been completely deactivated. He explained that it had been Soundwave's decision to trust the Autobots into saving Starscream's life and the fact that they had a truce going on.

And that only explained of why or how they were with the Autobots.

Now for how Starscream was even still alive, even after his Spark chamber ruptured like it had, Groundhog had to wince and look to Ratchet and Optimus Prime for that answer.

"Um…..I don't think I can even explain what happened with the girl."

'Slag.' Many of the Autobots thought to their selves for the reminder of what just happened with Dawn. So much for Starscream just forgetting about it like they had hoped that he would.

Starscream turned a very sour look onto Optimus, not liking the fact that he had just been saved by the Autobots but still, he hadn't exactly interrupted during the explanation. "What happened with the human girl, Prime?" He growled. "Did I just pick up All Spark energy coming from her?"

Optimus sighed as he glanced at a rather fuming pair of Chevy twins as one was holding a sleeping Dawn in his hands, close to his chest. He knew very well that it would not be wise to allow Starscream to know about Dawn's new condition. But he wasn't even sure what he could possibly say to advert the entire thing.

"Y-yes…."

Everyone blinked in surprise as all eyes went straight to Dawn. She still looked asleep but it appeared that she wasn't. She sleepily opened her eyes and looked over at Starscream, who looked rather bewildered. "Ye-yes…..that was All Spark energy." She said wearily.

"Dawn!" Sideswipe yelped in alarm that she would even say anything.

Tiredly, Dawn looked up at him and shook her head as she did her best to sit up and pat his wrist. "It's no use hiding it. They saw what happened." She looked apologetically to Optimus before turning her eyes back to Starscream, who was frowning. "It was when I was poisoned by the Energon, remember? When I was kidnapped by you and the other Decepticons and hurt because of Sideways? Optimus Prime and the Autobots used the All Spark shard to help me. And some All Spark energy is still stuck inside of me." She blinked away some of the sleepiness she was feeling away but still stared right at Starscream. "We…we figured out that….if I was anywhere near any injured Cybertronians, the All Spark energy activates."

"The problem is, the first time it happened with Arcee, you were so weak! It could have killed you the second time, Dawn!" scolded Ratchet as he glared at her. "I told you that you were not allowed in my medbay when there's injured Cybertronians in here! What were you thinking? You could have been killed!"

Dawn winced as she dipped her head into her chin, looking guiltily. She knew that she was in a lot of trouble, judging by some of the looks she was getting from the Autobots. "I…..I'm sorry, Ratchet. But…..I just…..I just felt the pull again. The energy sensed Starscream's pain. It's not like I could help it. Besides," She looked abashedly at the Seeker, himself. "I thought…..I kind of thought I still owed him my life. He did save my life after all. Saving his…..I guess, I just thought it was the right thing to do. Even though he can be a jerk, I felt like I still owed him." She stated.

Everyone, including the Decepticons looked surprised. Starscream being the most surprised by what she had said.

"We didn't want to tell you, Starscream," Optimus spoke up rather seriously as he looked at him. "Because we are unsure of what you would do. Like it or not, Dawn did just repair you before you could rupture and explode, destroying this entire base and many lives. She was doing what she thought was right. Now I will have to ask you, now that you know her situation, are you going to try to harm her?"

Starscream gave him a rather unsettled look before he glanced back at Dawn, who was biting her lip nervously. He only tore his burning gaze away for a moment as Sideswipe began to growl, looking at him threateningly. He growled right back but not even a second later, he looked back at Optimus Prime. "Are we your prisoners?" He growled.

Again, everyone looked surprised but Optimus shook his head immediately. "No. You are not our prisoners, as I had already told Soundwave and the rest of the Decepticons that sided with you. Like it or not, Starscream, we have a common enemy. We have the same problem as you do and that is Galvatron. We took up the offer of saving your life because of what he had done to you was not right. Now," He dipped his head down a little. "It's your decision, due to the fact that the Decepticons with you have claimed you to be their new leader. Even Soundwave has. You can either allow us to grant you asylum among us or you can leave at any time you want. But you may be hunted down by the Minicons. You did stand against Galvatron and Unicron and for that, you know as well as I do, they will not allow you to remain living and be against them." He warned him.

There was a long moments of silence as Starscream stared very hard at him before he looked over at Groundhog. "Where is Soundwave? And the others?" He growled.

Groundhog and Skywarp glanced at one another, both looking almost amused at the thought of where everyone was. But with a shrug, the Decepticon medic faintly smiled at Starscream. "Well…that's a funny story. When we came here, most of the Autobots weren't too keen about us so Optimus Prime came up with this idea that we could….well…." He was trying to find the right word for it.

"Work." Nemesis Strika growled, getting a very dark look from Starscream for speaking up again. "They called it Community Service. Soundwave and Barricade are stuck somewhere with that slagging Autobot Second in Command, Prowl in a place called Las Vegas. The very thought that Soundwave agreed to work with the fragging Autobots is a disgrace…." She was saying.

"Nemesis Strika, if I hear another word out of your fragging mouth, I'm going to rip out your voice processor! I asked Groundhog the question, not you!" snarled Starscream before he whirled around and looked back at Optimus Prime. "I want to speak to Soundwave, immediately."

"Understood." Optimus Prime said though a little cautiously. He looked around at everyone, motioning towards the doors. Of course, he had expected Ratchet to refuse to leave and get a rather dark look for it. He just shook his head as he heaved a sigh. "Ratchet, I will deal with this right now. Why don't you help Miss Cole with her twisted…" He was saying.

"I told you!" Cole spoke up sharply while inspecting her own ankle. She had mostly been ignoring the entire conversation between all of the alien robots but she wouldn't ignore this. She gave Optimus a look for even thinking about getting help. "I don't need your robot doctor looking at me! I can take care of this myself!" She growled before she stood up and wobbled towards the door, wincing the entire way.

Sighing, Optimus Prime just shook his head while Ratchet growled and followed right after her. The minute they were both out the door, Cole began yelling at the Autobot CMO for picking her up and carrying her off. He just shook his head with a sigh and looked back at Starscream who raised a metal eye ridge at him. "What?" He asked, as if he was being accused.

Starscream just shook his head as he glowered at him. "Who was that human femme? And what the frag was her problem?" He growled.

Another sigh escaped from Optimus and he began to explain the whole thing about the mysterious Department and Cole Keller's involvement. He figured that the Decepticons needed to know about the threat against all Cybertronians. Especially if they were going to stay around the base. But that was a really big if.

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"Sides, are you mad at me?" Dawn asked as her big boyfriend carried her through the halls with a very sour look on his face and Sunstreaker marching right behind him, looking just as irritated. She had known that he wasn't happy about what she had just done but she couldn't possibly imagine that he would stay angry with her. He never could. But right now….she wasn't so sure.

Sideswipe was quiet for a long moment until he reached his room. He whirled around and looked at Sunstreaker, as if asking something of him. He was only too glad that Sunny did understand and turned and walked off to let the two be alone. He watched him for a moment before he slammed his door open and marched inside, closing the door after himself. He went straight over to a large cot for him and carefully set Dawn down before beginning to pace.

"Sides….." Dawn said nervously, watching him go at it.

Glancing at her, Sides didn't say anything before he shook his head and went back to pacing in front of her. "Dawn, what were you thinking? You could have been killed! Why did you do that for that slagging Con?" He said, trying very hard to keep his voice down.

"Sides," Dawn sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry! All right! But I would have done it for you and Sunny! Or any of the Autobots….!"

"NO!" Sides immediately shouted, looking wide eyed at her; crossed between angry and scared. "No! Ratchet and Jetfire both told you and all of us that you can't use the All Spark energy! It will kill you, Dawn!"

Sighing again, Dawn shook her head and made a face at him. "It's not like I could have helped it, Sides! It was the energy, itself that made me do it! And besides, I owed Starscream…!" She tried to argue.

"You don't owe that slagging Con anything, Dawn! He's a deceiving, murdering Decepticon! You shouldn't have had to…..!" Sideswipe ranted.

"Sideswipe!" Dawn shouted over his ranting, glaring at him. She couldn't believe he was being so thick headed about it. She couldn't blame him for being this way but still! "He saved my life! He let me go when he didn't have to! I owed him my life! The least I could do was save his own life! And like I just said, it was the All Spark energy! It sensed his pain! He was dying, Sides! Even if it did give me a choice, I would have still did it!"

"It still could have killed you!" Sides argued, pain etched in his own voice. "I can't lose you, Dawn! Not because of us! Sometimes I wished that you were never pulled into this! If you were killed, it would be my fault!"

There was almost a dead silence as Dawn stared at him with bewilderment. She couldn't believe he said that. It was like he regretted coming into her life and changing it for her. It was like he…..he wished that they never met. And it really hurt. "What? Do you…..do you wish that we never met or something, Sides? Do you regret meeting me?" She asked, her voice starting to waver in pain.

Staring wide eyed at her, Sides had to take a minute to realize what she meant before he quickly shook his head and hurried over to the cot, dropping down to his knees in front of her. "No! No, of course not, Dawn! I don't…..but…..!" He was saying.

"But what?" Dawn demanded, painfully. There were tears starting to blind her vision as she looked up at him. "Sides, you're making it sound that way! It's like you wished that we never met and you became apart of my life! It's like you regret being with me! Is that it?"

Shaking his head as he brought his hands around her, Sides dipped his head closer to her, looking into her eyes. "No! I love you so much, Sunrise! I would never regret meeting you! You are everything to me! If anything happened to you, it would kill me! You are my life now! I just wished…I just wished that I would have been there sooner, when the Cons kidnapped you! I should have been there to stop you from getting hurt and having to have the All Spark shard to save your life, giving you its energy! Now…I'm so afraid that…..that you're going to die because of its raw power! What if I lose you? I can't do that, Sunrise! I just can't!" He told her painfully.

Staring at him with surprise, Dawn knew that it was just the fear and worry really starting to get to him. She couldn't stop herself from faintly smiling as she reached out and placed her hand against his warm metal. "You're not going to lose me, Sides. I'm not going anywhere." She told him softly.

Still looking painfully at her, Sides shook his head. "You can't promise me that. Jetfire and Ratchet said that every time you use that energy, it can kill you. I just…..I just…." He was saying, his head lowering a little.

Smiling softly, Dawn climbed to her feet and moved even closer to his face, leaning her head against his own forehead. She pressed her palms against his cheeks, lightly bringing his head up so she could look deeply into his beautiful glowing blue eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. I can and I will promise you that." She told him softly before she kissed his forehead, allowing the tingling sparks to overwhelm her. "I love you too, so much. And if anything were to happen to you, it would kill me too."

Sighing heavily, Sides cupped his hands around her, holding her close as he let his eyes flicker off for a moment. "And now…..we just have to worry about those slagging Cons doing something to you now that they know about the All Spark energy." He murmured softly.

"They're not going to do anything to me. Starscream won't let them." Dawn told him as she pressed her cheek against his forehead.

"You don't know that slagger like I do, Dawn." Sides sighed to her. "You don't know how deceiving he can be. Now that he knows, he will probably do anything to use you. He will try and hurt you."

Dawn shook her head as she pulled away from him and looked back into his glowing eyes softly. "Do you trust me?" She asked, getting a very surprised look from him. But after a few seconds, he nodded. She smiled at him as she pressed her hands under his chin to lift his head higher until his lips were right in front of hers. "Then trust my instincts. I just know that Starscream won't hurt me. I can feel it." She then pressed her lips against his mouth's rims before pulling away, still smiling.

Sighing, Sides just smiled back, but it was very faint. He still was having trouble with the thought of trusting the Decepticons. More or less, Starscream. He couldn't trust him, no matter how Dawn pleaded him to. It was all of the memories that slagger had given him. All of the other Autobots that he had killed during the war. "I will try. But I can't say that I can. Not until he really gives us a reason to trust him." He told her softly.

"That's all I ask of you, Sides." Dawn told him, smiling. "Trust me, hon-bot. I know that he won't hurt me. I just got this feeling that he won't." She then leaned her cheek against his forehead, closing her eyes.

Sides, however, looked past her small frame, a serious look on his face. 'I swear to Primus, if he does try to hurt you, I will kill him. Even if it kills me.' He thought to himself. He let out a sigh before lightly pulling away, looking back into Dawn's eyes. He felt the desperate need for something. He felt like he was suffocating over this entire situation. He knew that he couldn't lose Dawn in anyway. He had to do something that would stop this insane feeling that he felt. He couldn't fight it any more.

"Dawn, I love you so much." The Autobot Warrior told her softly, earning a soft smile. "I will face a thousand deaths before losing you. I swear. And I will do anything to protect you. As your Guardian and as the mech who loves you." He tilted his head, looking her directly into the eyes. "Dawn, I can't…hide my feelings for you. I want to tie myself to you in every way. You once said you wanted to be my Sparkmate." His eyes lowered, almost sadly. "The problem is, you aren't a Cybertronian. You don't have a Spark." He quickly looked up when Dawn gasped and looked almost terrified. He knew that she was thinking that he wanted to break ties from her. It was human thinking and it couldn't be helped. "But you have a heart! A heart I want to possess all for my own." He spoke quickly, hoping to divert the negative thoughts that were obviously in her mind. "Dawn, I want to tie myself to you in the human ways. I want to marry you like a human would."

Dawn gasped, her hands immediately flying to her mouth as she stepped back, looking at him with wide eyes. "Sides!" She cried out in surprise.

Smiling at her, Sides just nodded. "Dawn Jade Adams, in everything humanly possible, and I will swear by Primus, himself of my oath towards you, will you become my Sparkmate, my mate, my bride, my wife? Will you marry me in the human ways?"

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"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT STARSCREAM IS AWAKE FINALLY?" Barricade exclaimed over Soundwave's radio system, making the Communications Officer growl of how loud that he had just spoken. "WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN? WHAT HAPPENED? ARE WE GOING TO LEAVE? DOES THAT MEAN WE DON'T HAVE TO WORK WITH THESE SLAGGING HUMANS? ASK HIM WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO, SOUNDWAVE! SEE IF WE CAN GET OUT OF THIS FRAGGING COMMUNITY SERVICES SLAG!"

-I CAN HEAR YOU JUST FINE, BARRICADE! SHUT THE FRAG UP AND LET ME TALK, YOU SON OF A GLITCH!- Starscream bellowed from the three way conversation that Soundwave had set up the moment he spoke to the new Decepticon Leader.

Soundwave just sighed, wanting so much to shake his head, though it was nearly impossible to do in his giant SUV form. He just knew this conversation wasn't going to go so well. Especially with Barricade continuing to shout questions over the radio system set up between the three of them.


	22. Future Plans

There was no telling when or if Starscream was going to blow a gasket as he listened to Barricade whine and cry about how he was being forced by the Autobots and even Soundwave to work with a bunch of weak fleshies. He was going on and on about it until Starscream's eyes started to flare up hot red.

"BARRICADE! SHUT THE FRAG UP AND LET ME TALK FOR ONCE, YOU PIECE OF SLAG!" Starscream finally snapped into the connection.

There was a loud metallic bang and Barricade roared a Cybertronian swearword at Soundwave for smacking him once again with his door, denting his side. But at least he was finally shutting up to let Starscream to speak. He was grumbling a little but he kept it mostly to himself. Starscream huffed loudly as he glanced side wards at Optimus Prime, who was watching him cautiously but not looking worried at all. "Now then," The new Decepticon Leader huffed again before turning his attention back onto the two Decepticons listening to him. "Optimus Prime has informed me of everything that has been happening and I have made the decision." He paused for a moment, as if drawing out the drama a little just to annoy Barricade. "Seeing that we are most likely being hunted by Galvatron and the Minicons, as well as the rest of our fellow Decepticons, we do not have a choice. My decision is to remain with the Autobots. The Prime has granted us sanctuary…." He was saying.

"WHAT? ARE YOU FRAGGING KIDDING ME, STARSCREAM? WHAT THE FRAG IS GOING ON OVER THERE? WHY THE FRAG…!" Barricade was yelling through the radio connection, making Starscream start growling viciously.

Until there came another loud bang.

"OW! SOUNDWAVE, KNOCK IT OFF! QUIT HITTING….! OW!" Barricade roared after another loud bang; this time it was louder and harder. It was followed by the metallic clicks of a transformation and the Decepticon Hunter roared in rage before there came another clang and bash after a swift transformation sound came over the radio system and then a crash. In the background, Barricade was roaring in anger and yelling at Soundwave to get his aft off of his back. But it appeared that the Communications Officer was ignoring him.

"You may go on, Starscream. Finish as you were saying." Soundwave said calmly, not sounding the least bit annoyed by Starscream's decision.

Starscream growled in Barricade's case but huffed as he nodded as if Soundwave could see him. He cleared his vocal processor and glared off towards the wall. "As I was saying, we will remain with the Autobots. And we do not have much of a choice, Barricade, so shut that clap trap of yours! If you continue to complain, I will give the Autobot, Ratchet permission to lock your vocal processor so we do not have to listen to you any longer!" He snapped when Barricade tried to start up again.

This time, Barricade kept quiet.

Nodding in satisfaction, Starscream just looked right back at Optimus Prime. "Now then, we are most likely being hunted by our fellow Decepticons and the Minicons. With the circumstances that we are in, we don't have a choice. If we remain hiding without the assistance of the Autobots, it will be more than likely we will be found by the Minicons. And I highly doubt that we would survive much longer without the Autobots. It's survival now for us. We must do what we must to ensure our own survival. Even if that means working with the Autobots. I don't like it any more than you do, Barricade. But it is my decision. Unless you have changed your mind about supporting me as the Leader of the Decepticons." He growled warningly at the very thought.

There was a string of grumbles. "No. I haven't. I meant what I said back at the Nemesis." Barricade grumbled. "Now, will you tell this fat aft….OW! Get the frag off of me, Soundwave! WHY ARE YOU BOUNCING? QUIT IT! You're crushing my fragging chasis!"

Starscream couldn't stop the snickering that escaped him from the very thought that Soundwave was sitting right on top of Barricade's back, probably smashing him a little into the ground. They were obviously in mech modes and it probably was quite a sight for the humans with them to see of the two.

Even Optimus Prime had to spare a light chuckle, though trying to be quiet about it, knowing that Barricade would probably glitch about it if he knew that he was laughing silently at him and the image of Soundwave sitting on him.

"Soundwave, get off of Barricade so he will quit his glitching." Starscream remarked, not even hiding the fact that he was snickering about it.

"Yes, Starscream." Soundwave's amused reply came through while Barricade was growling and sputtering about the whole ordeal. It was clear that the Decepticon Communications Officer ignored him though. "Starscream, what about Barricade and my predictament? Should we remain with this….community service that Optimus Prime has encouraged?"

Starscream frowned as he met Optimus' curious gaze. He was quiet for a moment, thinking about the answer. He didn't take too long to think of the answer. "Yes. Stay with the humans. Like you said before, Soundwave. Perhaps we will see what the frag these Autobots like so much about the humans. And perhaps it will give us a clearer picture of these creatures. So yes. You and Barricade will remain with the humans and the Autobot, Prowl." He said calmly.

"Slaggit." Barricade grumbled.

"Yes, Starscream. We will remain assisting Autobot Designation, Prowl and the humans in the human city, Las Vegas. Until then, we will await any further orders. Shall I send reports daily of our activities?" Soundwave asked in his calm and way too professional tone.

Starscream grimaced at the very idea before rolling his eyes. "No. I don't fragging care what the frag you're doing with the humans on a daily basis. If there is any sign of the Minicons or any of our fellow Decepticons, then report to me." He frowned as he looked away, almost in forlorn as something else had his attention. "Also, if you receive any messages from Thundercracker or any of the others, then let me know immediately. It is highly unlikely….." He paused for a moment, his growls getting a little louder. "It is highly unlikely that they are still active, but in case if they are, let me know."

"Yes, Starscream." Soundwave nearly sounded just as forlorn as Starscream was. He was no happier with the predictament about their comrades than he was. "I should warn you, Starscream, about Nemesis Strika. She is not happy that we ended up dragging her along to the Autobots. She may attack…"

A growl from Starscream was what cut him off as the Decepticon Leader narrowed his eyes towards the door of the medic infirmary. "Don't worry about that glitch, Soundwave. If she does cause problems, I will offline her, myself." He said, still growling. He turned his attention back to Soundwave, who hadn't said anything after that. "In the mean time, just do whatever Prowl tells you to do and watch Barricade. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"WHAT THE FRAG AM I? A FRAGGING SPARKLING? I DO NOT NEED THIS…!" Barricade was yelling before a loud bang echoed through the communications system. "SOUNDWAVE IF YOU DO NOT STOP HITTING ME, I WILL OFFLINE YOU!"

"Is that a challenge?" Soundwave said rather calmly.

Growling in irritation, Starscream rolled his eyes and swung his arms at his sides as he whirled away from the wall where he was facing and looked at Optimus, who was doing all he could not to laugh at the situation. It would go figures that the Autobot Leader would find this funny. "It's no wonder you fragging Autobots won the fragging war." The Seeker growled before snapping his head to the side. "Soundwave, quit hitting Barricade. Groundhog will have a fit if he sees all of the dents you're making. Barricade, quit provoking Soundwave to hitting you. And quit acting like a fragging Sparkling! You have your orders! Now DO IT! Starscream, out!" He snapped the connection off before turning to look at Optimus Prime. "So…..you know my decision. What next?" He asked the Autobot Leader.

Optimus merely shrugged before he turned towards the door and started to walk towards it. "I suppose I can show you around then. You must be curious about the rest of your Decepticons' stature. And since we are going to be allies until this whole thing is over, you might as well know your way around." He stated.

Starscream sharply nodded and rumbled right after him right out into the large hallway. He was watching the large Autobot carefully though. There was still one thing that had been bothering him. "That woman, the one you called Cole. What was her fragging problem? I know that you explained her story, but why do you trust her? What if she's conning you?" He asked, sniggering at his own choice of words.

Glancing at the Decepticon Seeker and new Leader, Optimus just shook his head as he looked forward again. "She isn't. She saved Ultra Magnus' life, as well as a young boy that was traveling with him. She had been under orders to kill them both and yet, she defied those orders because she saw that it wasn't right. She is a very angry human, but she has agreed to help us as much as she could to take down her very own Government organization. And we are watching her carefully, after all. So far, she has done nothing to betray our trust. Nor has she tried to harm the boy or any of the younglings." He told him.

"You do know the one thing your problem is that you openly trust way too easily, don't you?" Starscream asked, raising an eye ridge. "How do you know I won't stab you in the back, even with our agreement?"

Looking at him, Optimus just frowned almost seriously. He knew that was a valid point. He didn't know if Starscream would do such a thing. In away, he knew very well that if given the opportunity, it would be more than likely that the Seeker would do just that. "I don't." He admitted cautiously. "But I am willing to take that chance because you did do something that no one believed that you would."

Giving him an almost disgusted look, Starscream shook his head. "Just because I let the girl, Dawn and the boy, Sam go that one time, doesn't mean I would do it again. Don't think I wasn't doing it for myself." He growled at him.

Smiling to himself, Optimus shook his head. "Wouldn't dream of it. And I won't even mention the part where you put Spitfire back together and saved her life after she tried to sacrifice herself to blowing Catactlysm sky high." He said, though he mostly said it quietly.

"Frag you." Starscream grumbled, sounding very sour.

And it couldn't be helped that Optimus started to chuckle. He just couldn't help but find amusement out of it. He didn't know if it was actually true but there really was something about Starscream that held some hope for the future. He just couldn't help it but start to see that the Seeker might not have been all that bad just like Spitfire could see. And Dawn.

There was only silence between the two; one staring with wide eyes up at him and he was staring calmly down at her. There was nothing but silence. She couldn't believe he actually had asked the question. The one question that everyone had been teasing them about since they even got together. The one question that only girls could ever dream about being made towards them.

All Dawn could do was stare at Sideswipe, wondering if she was still asleep and was only dreaming it. She couldn't find it in herself to reach up and pinching her cheek hard, wondering if she could wake herself up from this dream.

"Are….are you seri-serious?"

Sideswipe frowned down at her, pulling back a little. He couldn't believe she just asked that question. "Of course, I am. I love you, Dawn. Why would you think otherwise?" He asked her. He wasn't trying to make this look like some kind of joke. He hoped that he wasn't making it look like one. He was very serious about what he had just asked her. "Dawn, why…..?"

Dawn slowly shook her head, her brow furrowing. "You're not asking me right now because of what just happened, are you? Do you really think that Starscream would cause me harm? He's had plenty of chances before, you know? But he's never taken it." She stated, hoping she wasn't sounding chastising. She didn't want to sound like she was chewing him out. But she really didn't want him to be asking that very important question just to ensure her safety from the Decepticon Seeker.

"Of course not!" Sideswipe immediately said, looking almost stunned that she would even think that. Though, it was only somewhat true. But then again, it wasn't. "Dawn, I love you. That's why I'm asking. I want you to be my sparkmate. I want to spend all of eternity with you. That's why I'm asking." He sounded a little reproachful.

Staring up at him with complete surprise, Dawn finally tilted her head as her eyes began to shimmer. "Even though…" She swallowed hard. "Even though some day I will…Sides, I'm a human. Someday I will grow old and I will wither away. I can't…..I can't…I won't live as long as you. Are you really…are you really willing for that to happen?" She asked weakly.

Smiling back down at her, Sideswipe moved closer to her again until his head was leveled with her, his chin nearly resting right on the berth as he looked into her. "Sunrise, no matter what. You will always be mySunrise. No matter if you grow older by the day. You'll be the hottest Granny in the universe to me. Is that what you're worried about?" He asked her softly.

Blushing furiously at the comment, Dawn rolled her eyes as she gave him a smile. She reached forward and pressed her hands on either side of his face before resting her forehead against and feeling the tingling sensation running from Sides to her. "Well…..a little. I just don't think that I could do that to you though. Grow old and then die while you have to be watching me the entire time." She told him just as softly.

"Like I said, you'll always be the most beautiful creature in my optics,Sunrise. No matter what. My spark belongs only to you." Sideswipe whispered to her.

Dawn pulled back a little to look him right into the deep sea colored glowing eyes before she felt the overwhelming emotion washing over her. She felt so happy to even hear those words. She didn't know what she was thinking or how this was ever going to work. But she knew that he was right. She felt that it was just right. She could feel the love between his spark and her heart. Even if she would grow old one day and die, she could always just have now. Now and forever with her soul.

And perhaps…and perhaps maybe that legend that Flare-Up told her would be true. Maybe if she did tie her heart and soul to Sideswipe's pure spark, maybe one day when she died, she could be recreated into one of them.

That was why she said the one answer that Sideswipe was waiting for.

"YES! YES!"

Everyone heard the bellow through out the entire base and all they could do was look around frowning. It didn't help that the Autobots' comlinks crackled to life and the loud bellow went crashing against their audio receivers.

"OW! WHAT THE FRAG?" Ironhide yelped as he slapped his hands against his head and doubled over. He had been watching the human soldiers going through some training tactics and that's when his audio receivers were assaulted by the shouting. He saw many men and women whirl around to see what he was yelling about. But he wasn't the only one who had yelled out in alarm from receiving the very loud answer.

Lennox and Epps frowned at one another and then toRenoandVladimirbefore looking back up at the large black Autobot. "Hey, Hide! What's up?" The sandy haired Soldier asked.

Ironhide grimaced before rubbing his receivers. He looked very annoyed about what had just happened. He held up a finger to tell the humans to wait before asking questions before turning his attention onto the Autobot Communications system. "Who the frag is yelling into the radio system?"

"I think it's Sides, mech." Jazz remarked right back before he stepped into the room, frowning as he looked around. "Hey! Anyone confirm that?" He asked right through his communications system.

"Yeah, I think it was." Came Sunstreaker's reply. "Hold on. Let me find out what's going on."

There was a brief pause as Ironhide and Jazz looked at one another then at all of the humans standing around them. They shared only confused shrugs and puzzled looks. No one could be sure what to even say about what had just happened.

"HOLY FRAGGING PRIMUS!" Sunstreaker suddenly shouted through all of the Autobots' links. He sounded…rather pleased though. It was like he had heard the best news of all. No one could be sure what had him so excited. And when Sunstreaker was excited about something, that wasn't usually a good thing.

"What?" Ironhide ground out, almost sounding like he was dreading the answer.

"Sideswipe just asked Dawn to marry him and she said yes!" Sunstreaker cried cheerfully.

That had both Ironhide and Jazz stiffen with surprise as they stared off in different directions. They looked almost completely stunned. But then their eyes brightened and they grinned at one another. "YES!" Both barked cheerfully throwing fists up into the air.

It was followed by cheers through out the entire base, making quite a few humans stare at them in surprise. It was due to the fact that they did not have the same connection as all of the Autobots did, nor did the Decepticons, so they were also giving their long time enemies, recently turned allies quite the surprised looks.

"What? What's going on?" Epps asked, squinting his eyes in confusion. He wasn't the only human to do so.

Ironhide and Jazz grinned down at them. They knew this was going to get the very same desired effect that all of the Autobots were having right now. "Sideswipe and Dawn are engaged! They're getting married in human terms!" The smaller silver Autobot said happily.

Eyes snapped wide open with surprise and shock before many faces lit up brightly and humans throughout the entire base shouted their cheers.

"Married?" Skywarp asked, frowning at the very term as he heard the humans all around him cheering. He was watching as some of the younger Autobots interacted with the human teenagers. He had been quite curious about what was so special about the humans to make the Autobots so over protective of them. He looked towards the quite cheerful Bumblebee, Spitfire, Hot Rod, Arcee and Flare-Up then over at the grinning Ultra Magnus as he watched the young boy, Rex Rory jump up and down, pumping his fists into the air. "What is married? I don't understand?"

The Autobots and humans looked over at him, still smiling. They didn't care too much for letting the Decepticon know but they honestly didn't care at the moment either. They were just happy for Sideswipe and Dawn. It was about time. And they couldn't wait to see Eliza and Nik's reaction to hearing about it.

"Um….married. It means…" Sam tried to explain before making a face.

Spitfire rolled her eyes but kept a bright look on her face. She folded her arms across her chest and looked over at the confused looking Seeker watching them. "Married is basically the same thing as Sparkmate Rituals." She nodded when Skywarp's brilliant red eyes snapped wide open. She just smiled and nodded her head once again. "Yep! Sideswipe has finally decided on making Dawn his sparkmate!"

"Bu-bu-but! She's a human! That human…..that human girl that the double blader is always around! She's not one of us!" Skywarp staggered over his words in surprise.

All of the Autobots just shrugged and shook their heads as they continued to smile. "Don't matter. He loves her. She loves him. Doesn't matter if they're completely different. It's what they want. Who are we to say otherwise?" Hot Rod asked, shrugging.

Skywarp only just kept stuttering over himself, trying to find words to say. But he was completely in surprise. And it didn't help when his head started smoking.

"Oh, scrap. Don't tell me we have another glitcher with us." Flare-Up remarked, her eyes squinting a little before she snickered when the Seeker fell right over and crashed to the ground at the information overload. She shook her head as she looked around at everyone. "Do you think we should call Ratch? Or the Decepticon medic? What was his name again?"

"I think it was Groundhog." Arcee said already making the call to Ratchet.

Frowning as she watched all of the Autobots and the humans interacting, along with the other Decepticons. Nemesis Strika as currently holding up the wall with her back in the furthest corner in the base. She was not happy and everyone knew that. They all knew that she wasn't thrilled about being stuck in an Autobot base. They knew better than to try and approach her. Even Elita One had backed off a little when she started sulking in the corner.

Of course, Nemesis Strika was frowning as she took in the so called happy news. She didn't understand any more than Skywarp had but at least she wasn't going to make a scene about it. She did not approve of the idea of two complete different races making such a connection with each other.

She didn't see the point.

She also saw it as a disgusting act of betrayal against their own kind. She didn't care for humans at all. She saw them as disgusting bugs scurrying around under foot. But she knew that if she tried to step on one, she would hear about it and probably get offlined by the Autobots or even Soundwave. And now that Starscream was up and moving around, she would probably hear about it from him.

Not that he was any different on his opinions about humans. But he was actually taking the time to trying to understand these cockroaches called humans.

It just made Nemesis Strika sneer in disgust before tearing her burning red eyes away from a gathering crowd of cheering humans. She caught sight of azure eyes watching her and she looked to meet that gaze. She growled viciously when she saw that it was Ultra Magnus. He was watching her very reaction and wasn't looking too pleased. All she could do was narrow her eyes dangerously at him before tearing her gaze away to stare at the wall she was sitting right next to, sulking once again.

She couldn't wait for this whole thing to just fall apart. She just couldn't wait to get away from all of these fragging humans and their goody goody good Autobot Guardians. She could only hope that it would happen soon. Otherwise, she was going to go on a human killing spree if they kept wandering too close to her.


	23. Barricade's First Day

Oh, yeah. He was highly annoyed.

This was something he wasn't going to stand for. No matter what his orders had been. Sure, he would work with that annoying stick in the aft Autobot, Prowl. He would work with that equally serious pain in the aft who kept hitting him with his door, Soundwave.

But there was no way in the Pits he was letting that bossy fleshie into his interior. NO FRAGGING WAY!

"Open the door!" Kris Hepherr snapped as she stood beside the Decepticon police cruiser, glaring at the driver's side door.

"Go frag yourself." Barricade growled as he just sat there with his doors tightly locked. He was not going to relent and let some squishy human sit inside of his cab. Forget it! He wasn't going to allow it! No matter how many times this little glitch kept kicking his side. He could easily avoid her but continuing to back up away from her.

Gritting her teeth, Kris folded her arms tightly and tapped her foot impatiently. She couldn't believe how stubborn this stupid alien robot was being right now. "I don't like it any more than you do! I don't want to work with something like you! But we have our orders! And we have a job to do! And you're my only way to getting it done!" She snapped. "So open your damned door and let me in!"

Scoffing bitterly, Barricade inched back a few feet from her. "Frag no! I am not letting you in my cab! I'll work with that fragging Autobot and Soundwave but I am not letting a little organic annoyance like you sitting in my seats!" He snapped right back.

Now grinding her teeth, Kris moved a little closer, her fists balled up tightly against her ribs. If looks could destroy, Barricade would be a pile of scrap right now. She would tear him apart if she could. "Look you!" She snarled, glaring at him with narrowed eyes. "I don't want to work with a tin can like you! I hate having partners as it is! And having a robot for a partner isn't my cup of tea! But like it or not, we have our orders! Now open your door or I will go get a torch blower and remove it for you!" She snarled at him.

"Yeah, you just try it, femme!" Barricade snarled right back. "I'll crush you right under my foot before you can even close to me with one!"

"What in the name of Primus is going on over here?" asked a very weary Prowl as he rolled over with his new human partner, Steven Perry walking calmly beside him.

Soundwave was parked in his alt mode on the other side of the police parking lot, speaking to the human Communications specialists. He was listening to the young man, Greg Butte as he talked excitedly about what they were working on right at the moment. He seemed to be very excited that he got to work with an alien robot on Communications. Barricade couldn't really tell what the Decepticon Communications was feeling at the moment about the human. He was such a hard mech to even read.

But obviously, the commotion between Barricade and Kris Hepherr had gotten his attention because he slowly reversed and turned in their direction in his alt mode.

Barricade just growled his engine at Prowl's approach and continued to reverse away from the raging human female, who jabbed at him with her finger as if it was a knife she was threatening him with. "That freaking car won't open his door! I need to be somewhere and he won't let me in! Is this the way you robots work? You're stubborn as hell? And you refuse things when they're requested." She snarled.

Prowl immediately stopped in his tracks from getting closer. He was pretty sure it was a better idea to not get any closer to the human female than this. Turning a stern look towards Barricade, he heaved a sigh. "Barricade, sooner or later, you're going to have work with her. That's a part of what we're doing here." He said coolly.

"Frag you, Autobot! I agreed to work with you and Soundwave! Not a bunch of organics! I am not going to let some fragging human sit in me! Forget that!" The Decepticon snarled.

Slumping a little on his tires, wearily, Prowl sighed. He would have been shaking his head if he could. He knew this had been a bad idea. He knew fairly well that working with someone like Barricade wasn't a good idea at all. The Decepticon was just too stubborn and crude and it really didn't help...

"BARRICADE!" The deep, monotonous voice boomed.

Literately flinching on his tires, Barricade cringed very close to the pavement as he slowly turned towards Soundwave, who was now rolling towards the two Police cruisers, looking like a vehicle of death moving towards them. He hadn't been the only one to have jumped. Even Prowl and the two humans had jumped and looked wide eyed at the large Communications Mobile Command truck. He didn't need to see Soundwave in his bipedal form to know that the Communications Officer was glaring at him. "Oh, slag." He muttered, knowing very well that he was in trouble.

Soundwave clicked loudly as he began his transformation and was soon towering over the cringing black and white police cruiser, glaring down at him with his burning red eyes. If looks could destroy, Barricade would have been obliterated on the spot.

All of the human police officers and Comm techs could only stare up at the huge Decepticon with shock and awe. They knew he must have been big, due to all of the Cybertronians being big but they hadn't realized that he was that big. And it didn't help that he was wide in mass as well.

Of course, they had seen him standing up briefly earlier when they had been talking to their so called Leader. It had been a hilarious scene to even watch. The humans had all been standing off, letting the three Cybertronians converse with one another when the call had come in. They had watched as Soundwave jerked a little in surprise as he heard Starscream's voice through the communications system. Barricade had started shouting but no one really paid too much attention. They only thought it was funny watching the Police Cruiser disguised Decepticon shout at someone over their communication links had been funny. He was making such a big fuss about working with a bunch of humans.

And it didn't help when Soundwave would swing his door open and slam it against Barricade's side. Eventually, Barricade had gotten fed up with it and immediately transformed to attack the Communications Officer right back.

Soundwave had been just as quick to transform with Barricade lunging at him with rage. He had caught him in mid air with his many appendages and slammed him down onto his front before slamming his aft right down on the Decepticon Road Commander, looking as calm as he usually did.

What really Steven Perry and Greg Butte roaring with laughter was it seemed that Barricade had annoyed Soundwave too much with all of his shouting that he actually started bouncing on the Decepticon Police Cruiser's back, just to piss him off some more. Kris Hepherr just rolled her eyes and folded her arms to watch with a dead stare.

After that little episode, it was time to get to work.

There was only one problem with that; Barricade was being too stubborn and refusing to let Kris drive him so they could get to work. And now, they were watching an obvious confrontation between Soundwave and Barricade. It was at least Steven and Greg could find amusement in the entire thing.

"Heh. Better the Decepticon cop car than me." Steven Perry finally snorted out as he folded his arms and tilt his head back to get a good measurement of the Decepticon Communications Officer. "He's a big fella, ain't he?"

Grinning, Greg Butte punched a fist into his other palm while his fellow Communications techs just stared jaw dropped at Soundwave's back. "Yeah! And he's my partner, man! This is so going to be awesome!" He then got a dead panned look on his face as he thought of something. "Maybe Masterson will stop picking on me with him around then."

A string of clicks, whirls, beeps and metallic clatter began snarl right out of the huge Decepticon. It took all of the humans a moment to realize it but they got the idea that Soundwave was talking to Barricade in the Cybertronian native tongue. And the sounds that he was making didn't sound too pleasant. It couldn't have been with the Decepticon Police Cruiser getting dangerously low to the pavement as it cringed lower and lower.

Glancing side wards at the Autobot Police Cruiser, Steven Perry nudged the side to get Prowl's attention. "Hey, what's he saying?" He asked in a low voice.

An amused and rather smug sounding snort escaped from Prowl, giving Steven and Kris an idea that if he'd been in robot mode, he probably would have been smirking at the sight of Barricade. "Soundwave is pulling rank over Barricade. He's basically yelling at him for trying to ignoring orders that their Leader, Starscream gave him." He said in an amused tone. "And making it very clear that if he continues this, he's going to punish him for insubordination."

Steven smirked as he turned his eyes back onto the police cruiser, whose under carriage was now scraping against the pavement while the huge black and silver Decepticon was standing directly over him, continuing to snarl at him in Cybertronian. "Ouch." He could only say. "I don't think I would ever want to get punished by that big guy."

"Do not worry. Soundwave will never do such actions against you. He would, if he were still under Megatron's, or in this case, Galvatron's command. But now that he's working with the Autobots, he will not." Prowl tried to reassure them, thinking that his new human partner had been serious.

With another metallic snarl, Soundwave finally jerked his head around and looked down at Kris, meeting her rather dark glare as she tore her eyes away from the stubborn Police Cruiser. "You may proceed, Officer Hepherr. Barricade," He growled, shooting the spoken Decepticon a dark look. "Will now cooperate."

With a snort of disbelief, Kris turned her dark brown eyes onto Barricade, raising an eyebrow at him. "Well? Shall we go or are you still going to be an ass?" She asked darkly.

Growling his engine, Barricade didn't move for a second until he earned a growl from the large Decepticon still standing over him. He slumped on his tires before swinging his passenger side door open. "You're not sitting in my driver's side." He growled savagely.

Glaring at him with dangerous slits, Kris began to open her mouth to have something else to say to Barricade. But a nudge from Steven shut her up, shooting him a look. He just shook his head. "Kris, just don't even. Don't even argue with him. He doesn't want you behind his wheel. Besides, you got a job to do right now. You need to get going or you're going to be late." He told her.

Heaving a growling sigh, Kris nodded before she stomped towards Barricade's passenger side door and started to climb in. She had to stop when Soundwave held up a hand right over the Police Cruiser, getting her attention. She frowned up at him, wondering what he wanted.

"If there are any complications between yourself and Barricade, inform me and I will deal with him." The Communications Officer said, giving his companion a warning look.

Snorting, Kris shook her head as she swung one leg into Barricade. "I don't think that will be necessary. I can handle him, myself." She said but giving him a jerk nod. "But thanks for the tip." She then climbed in, swinging her other leg inside before it could be slammed on it. She snarled at the dashboard just as the Saleen Mustang peeled out backwards and sped towards the public street.

"Do you think it's wise letting the human femme going with Barricade?" Prowl asked looking up at Soundwave with his hidden eyes.

Soundwave's red burning eyes only darkened under the visor but he jerked his head into a nod as he watched as Barricade sped down the street with a shouting human female. "Affirmative. Barricade knows what will happen if he disobeys my orders." He said rather darkly before he immediately began to fold himself back down into his alt mode. He rolled back over where a grinning Greg was waiting with his team. "As you were saying, Greg Butte."

"Just Greg, man. Call me Greg. As I was saying..." The young man started right where he had left off explaining about what they had for Communications for now.

It was awkwardly quiet within Barricade as the Decepticon began driving down the Las Vegas Strip and Kris was glaring out the window, watching for any trouble at all. Neither of them spoke to each other. They didn't want to talk to each other at all. The silence suited both of them just fine.

However, as they continued driving down the Strip, there was nothing going on and it was starting to bug Kris. She heaved a sigh as she looked around the streets and buildings before growling and reaching for Barricade's radio dial. She needed to listen to something other than that silence.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Barricade growled at her.

Kris started for a moment before cursing. She had almost forgotten that she was in an alien robot disguised as a cop car. If only there wasn't so much going on through her mind right now she wouldn't have forgot. "It's too quiet. At least put some music on to break the silence." She told him dryly.

"NO! I like the silence!" Barricade growled.

Glaring at the dashboard, Kris turned her head away and folded her arms across her chest. She couldn't believe this guy! "Fine! See if I care if you get bored! It's stinking quiet and there's nothing going on right now! Stupid crabby black and white cab!" She snarled before turning her glare back out the window.

Barricade growled but didn't say anything. He was not going to get in an argument with a fragging fleshie. Even if was a little boring right now.

Ten minutes passed and more silence was their reward.

And nothing happening.

Growling in aggravation, Barricade looked around with his hidden eyes. He wasn't seeing anything happening. He didn't sense any trouble either. He was keeping his radar open but there was nothing. "What the frag is with this human city? I thought that this was called Sin City! Isn't there suppose to be crimes happening right now?" He growled.

Kris snorted as she gave the dashboard a side glance. "It's only in the early afternoon, robot. The crimes really don't start happening until later." She told him, with dry humor.

That just earned another growl from the Decepticon. He really hoped that she was kidding because if he had to keep driving around in circles without anything to do, he might just go on a rampage. "Then what the frag are we doing out here if nothing is going to happen?" He demanded.

Once again, Kris snorted as she raised an eyebrow at him. She was now finding herself amused by his reaction. "We're cops. We got to be doing something other than sitting out in a parking lot, eating doughnuts. We never know when..." She was saying.

Suddenly, Barricade swung his passenger door open and slammed on his brakes just as someone was trying to run right by him. The man ran head long into it before bouncing right back and falling to the ground. In his hand, there was a purse and somewhere behind him, someone was screaming for help.

Kris had jumped and looked wide eyed at the man with alarm. She had not been expecting that to happen at all, nor could she understand why it happened. "Wh-what the...?" She gasped.

"Hmph. As you were saying?" Barricade asked almost smugly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kris exclaimed before hurrying to climb out and grabbed the man, who was very dazed and confused with what just happened. She stopped when she saw a few people running towards them, including an elderly woman. She just frowned as they ran right up to her, glaring at the man. "What's the problem here?"

"Th-that man! He stole the lady's purse and tried to run off, officer! Thank goodness you saw him coming and stopped him! He would have gotten away with it if you hadn't!" One of the men said as the lady snatched up her purse and hugged it.

Her eyebrows raising, Kris turned back towards Barricade, looking surprised. If she couldn't be too sure but she could have sworn that he looked very smug on his tires. It could not be helped as she shook her head, a growing smile on her face. She couldn't believe him. "You knew that was happening, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me?" She asked her hand on her hip.

"Hey, I was just waiting for you to notice." Barricade remarked still quite smug. "But since you didn't, I thought it best to just act on my own. We got to be doing something. Other than sitting in a parking lot, eating doughnuts."

Shaking her head with a smirk on her face, Kris just stared at him as she gripped the dazed man before shrugging. "Okay. Fine. You win this round. Open up and we'll take him to the station." She told him.

Barricade gave a groan but opened up his back door so that Kris could shove the man inside. He slammed it again when the man was inside his back seat. He waited till Kris climbed back in before closing his passenger side door. He didn't leave just yet because of the people standing beside him, looking at him almost in awe. It made him cringe back on his tires. "What the frag are they looking at?" He asked through his radio system.

Kris glanced side wards out the window at the people staring at awe of the black and white Decepticon. She frowned but shook her head. "I don't know. Roll down your window and I'll ask." She was being a little sarcastic but it didn't seem that he cared because he did roll down his window. She gave him a wide eyed look before rolling them and shaking her head again. She looked back at the people just outside the window. "Is there something wrong?" She asked them.

The men and the old woman looked back at her before they all shook their heads. One of them was eyeing the words that were on the side of the police cruiser. He looked rather surprised and worried but awed all the same. "Is that...Officer, is that an Autobot?" One of the men asked.

Barricade's reply to that was a deep growl from his engine. He was not amused.

"That...that's not an Autobot sign." The man who had been staring at Decepticon insignia. And because he said that, the others stared at it with wide eyes.

"I'm a Decepticon, humans." Barricade growled.

"Wha-?" A man gasped, now looking nervous. And even the others stepped back, looking flabbergasted.

Kris smirking to herself, shook her head as she reached over and smacked the empty driver's seat next to her. "Be nice, you." She turned back to the people staring at the driverless police cruiser. She earned a light growl but was never reprimanded for it. "Don't worry, folks. This is Officer Barricade. Yeah, he's a Decepticon. But it appears...though it wasn't mentioned just yet in the media, that a few Decepticons have joined the Autobot side. They're actually trying to help clean up the cities and everything. You'll probably hear about it eventually in the news. But he's not an Autobot. He is trying to help, though." She explained to them.

The people looked awed again. But before they could even ask any more questions, Barricade was driving off.

The day was definitely full of annoyances like that. There was a lot more crime going on than Kris had thought and Barricade was the one who spotted them first and went after them. He was somewhat impressing Kris with his fast reactions to the crimes that were going on. There had only been a few high speed chases through the Strip and he managed to catch them quickly so that Kris could yank them out of the vehicle and arrest them.

Within about four hours, they had nailed quite a few criminals or speeders. More than, what Kris said, the other officers managed to do within a day. Even Steven Perry and Prowl weren't catching as many as they were. They were mostly going after speeders as it was. And that really had Barricade's ego inflate bigger.

There had only been a few shoot outs between gangs and the police but Barricade pretty much had that one covered. He dropped Kris off behind the safety of an armored vehicle with other officers before jumping right over the gang members' heads and aiming his cannons at them. There was just something about two huge cannons being aimed at them, even with their pea shooter looking guns that just made the gangs drop their weapons and allow their selves to be arrested.

By the end of the day, Barricade and Kris were not snapping at each other anymore. They were actually on better terms than they had started out with, which was quite surprising to Prowl. He had been expecting them to come back to the police station, wanting to kill each other.

"Geez. What did you two do, go on a date or something?" Steven Perry asked as he watched Kris get out of Barricade.

Giving him a very dry look, Kris reached over and slugged him hard in the arm, making him yelp. "Bug off, Perry! We just have an understanding now, that's all." She shot at him before giving Barricade a look as he flashed his head lights in warning at the man right next to her. "Cool it, Barry. I got this."

"Barry?" Barricade had to growl, though there was a hint of a chuckle there.

Prowl's hood started smoking.

Soundwave rolled over with Greg Butte right next to him. He was eyeing his fellow Decepticon with a curious look. He was actually a little surprised, himself. It seemed that whatever had happened that day with their duties, things did change a little between Barricade and Officer Hepherr. It was definitely something that he wasn't used to at all. He would definitely have to keep a close eye on the other Decepticon and this human when he could. Just so that he could understand a little more. "Report." He merely said.

"Meh!" Barricade grunted as he turned his hidden eyes onto the large Mobile Command vehicle. "The usual human cop things. I'll send you a list of it all."

Kris just snorted as she shook her head and glanced down at a wrist watch she had. Her eyes flashed to see what time it was before she let out a rather loud curse, surprising everyone, human and bot around her. "Shit! I'm late!" She spun around and looked at Barricade. "Hey! Con! I need to be somewhere right now! Give me a lift!" She said, grabbing his passenger door and hopped back in.

If he could, Barricade would have lift his eye ridge at her. "Ah…..I thought it was polite of humans to ask for a ride. Not just demand one." He remarked dryly.

Kris rolled her eyes and jabbed a finger towards the street. She looked like she was in a real big rush and didn't have time to argue with him. "Just go! Get to the Las Vegas High School! I needed to be there like twenty minutes ago!" She quickly said.

Wanting to roll his hidden eyes, Barricade began rolling towards the street. He didn't have the patience to argue with her, himself. He didn't like being bossed around by an organic but with Soundwave baring his hidden eyes into him like he was doing, he didn't want to make a scene about it.

Frowning at his own watch, Steven Perry grimaced to see what time it was. "Oh, damn. She is a half an hour late." He remarked.

Prowl and Soundwave looked over at him, both frowning in their own little serious way. "What is she late for?" It was the Autobot to ask.

Steven Perry sighed, shaking his head as he looked after Barricade and Kris as they drove out of the police station parking lot. He knew he really shouldn't say at all. It wasn't his place. But it couldn't be helped with the Autobot and Decepticon. "The meeting with her daughter's principal. She also needs to pick up her son on the way. For being a Las Vegas police officer, she is the busiest officer we have. Being a cop and a mother." He remarked, shaking his head.

Even Greg Butte shook his head, his nose crinkled at the very thought. "It doesn't even help that Kylee gets into trouble either. All of the time." He remarked.

Both Prowl and Soundwave just stared at him with almost surprise. They had not been aware of the woman being partnered with Barricade had kids. But then again, what did they know about any of the humans that they were even working with. They hadn't even taken the time to actually get to know them.

"So why are we going to a school?" Barricade asked as he drove down the road, heading to the school that Kris had ordered him to go. He didn't particularly care why this human female was in such a rush, but it did bug him that she actually wanted him to speed through the city to get to a school.

Kris didn't answer as she glared forward, trying to call someone on her cell phone. She gave a growl when she didn't receive anything before shoving it back into her pocket. "I just need to get to the school, now! I'm already late and I can't be any later! Now, step on it!" She barked at him.

Sorely tempted on ignoring her, Barricade decided against it. He didn't want to hear it from Soundwave for it later, knowing fully well that it was more than likely he would. So he stepped on the speed and even flicked on his lights so he didn't have to hear any more from Kris.

They arrived at the Las Vegas school within a few moments and before Barricade could even stop, Kris was already jumping out and racing towards the school. The Decepticon merely frowned as he watched her rush into the school, even as he rolled as close as he could to the building. He was definitely interested into knowing what it was that had her in such a rush like that. He kept his radar on her, even within the building, watching as she was practically running into the halls of the school.

Kris rushed into the school office to find the secretary looking rather bored. She grimaced when the older woman gave her a raised eyebrow before pointing to the principal's office before she could even say anything. "He's already waiting for you. Your daughter is in there already." The old woman remarked in a rather blank way.

"Thanks, Sheryl." Kris only said before hurrying into the office to find the principal; a tall, balding white man sitting behind the desk, giving the teenage girl sitting across of him a rather dry look. It looked like there had been quite a conversation going on between them. And not a pleasant one. "I am so sorry that I'm late, Mr. Rubin." She said as she quickly sat down.

The Principal gave her a rather dry look but shook his head as he pressed his fingers together. His eyes turned back towards Kylee Hepherr, who looked very impatient about being there.

Kylee Hepherr was just as lovely as her mother was. She was 16 years old, with long wavy dark brown hair falling to below her shoulders. She had her mother's face and dark eyes with long eye lashes over each of her eyes. She wore ripped at the knees jeans and a black halter top under a jean jacket. She wore thick makeup on her face, though she really didn't need it at all. She had large hoop earrings hanging from her ears, barely skimming her shoulders. Over her hair, she wore a black bandana, trying to make herself look as gangster as she could. She even wore knee length black boots with her pants tucked into them.

Glancing over at her daughter, Kris sat down before offering Mr. Rubin a faint smile as she folded her hands together. "Alright, what's this about?" She asked, trying to be as friendly as she could.

Sucking in a deep breath, Mr. Rubin shook his head before he reached into a drawer and pulled out a bag, setting it right on the top. The very sight of it made Kris' face fall and her eyes snap open wide. "It's about this, Mrs. Hepherr. Your daughter is very luck I didn't call the police about this. It was consfigatated from Kylee's locker. She said that it wasn't hers but it was in her locker." He remarked.

"It isn't mine! I don't know where it came from!" Kylee snapped, her eyes getting very hard as she folded her arms tightly across her chest.

Shooting her a silencing look, Kris did not look happy at all as she turned back to Mr. Rubin before reaching over and plucking the bag right off his desk, which he made no move to stop her. She eyed the greens inside of it before her face hardened again and she looked back at her daughter. "Kylee, what is this? Where did you get this?" She asked, her tone very icy.

Kylee rolled her eyes as she looked away, her jaw sticking out. She gave a very impatient sound as she glared away from her mother. She didn't bother to say anything.

"Kylee!" Kris snapped, reaching over and grabbing her daughter's chin, forcing it back towards her. "You will answer me, right now. What is this and where did you get this? Who gave this to you?"

"I didn't smoke any of that, mom! I swear! I took it from Jake!" Kylee argued before throwing her hand towards the principal. "I tried telling HIM that but he didn't believe me! I swear! I was going to give it to you tonight!"

Narrowing her eyes at her, Kris heaved a sigh, shaking her head. She looked back at Mr. Rubin, who still didn't look like he believed Kylee's story at all. He was shaking his head at her, giving her a very hard, stern look. Even with the teen girl glaring at him. "Mr. Rubin, I am so sorry about this. It will not happen again." She shot her daughter a look again. "There will be actions about this. But for now," She looked back at the principal. "What are the consequences for this?" She asked him.

Mr. Rubin shook his head as he pressed his fingers against each other again. "Normally, expulsion from school for possession of drugs on school campus. This is the third case we've had this week. Not with Kylee, but with other students. The drugs are becoming a problem in my school, Mrs. Hepherr. But I am going to be lenient towards your daughter, though I usually wouldn't do this. All I am going to ask for is a drug test from Kylee to find out if she has been using."

"Ugh! I am not...!" Kylee started to snap but another silencing look was shot at her by Kris.

"And, if she has been using, then she will be expelled from the school." Mr. Rubin said, more calmly than he was looking right at the moment. "For now, until we can figure this out, she will be on suspension for a week."

"A week? You fucking kidding...?" Kylee started.

"Kylee! Watch your mouth!" Kris snapped, giving her a warning look. She heaved a sigh before nodding to Mr. Rubin. "I will get to the bottom of this, Peter. And I will have some officers sent here to do a drug check, if it's all right with you?"

Mr. Rubin just nodded as he looked rather weary of the subject already. "Very well. I hope we can get to the bottom of this." He shook his head, glancing side wards at Kylee. "In all honesty, Mrs. Hepherr. I really don't want to expel your daughter. I really don't. She is a bright a student and she does have good grades. Not great, but she's not terrible as some of my other students are. I do hope that she is not using. Because if she is, you know exactly what is going to happen to her. And I can't even imagine what this is going to do to your reputation as a LV Police Officer. You are one of the best cops in this entire god forsaken city. I'd really hate to see what happens when this gets out that one of the top officers' kids are getting into drug problems." He told her.

Kris gave Kylee a side wards glance before she nodded. "Thank you, Peter. Is that all?" She asked him as she stood up and motioned for Kylee to join her, which she did with a huff.

With a nod, Mr. Rubin pushed the bag towards her. "Yeah. That's about it. I don't want to see Kylee for the rest of the week. Not until I see a drug test or until next week." He told her. "And I don't want this in my office. So could you see to it?" He asked her.

Nodding, Kris reached over and picked up the bag before shoving it into her inside jacket pocket. She grabbed Kylee by the arm, who tried to jerk away but didn't get too far. She kept a grip on her before turning and storming out of the room, while giving her daughter a very dangerous look.

"Let go of me!" Kylee snapped as she was dragged right out of the school building. "I can walk all on my own!"

"I cannot believe you, Kylee!" Kris snapped as she kept a firm grip on her teenage daughter's arm, dragging her straight towards Barricade, who was watching curiously from where he stayed in front of the building. "Drugs? You had drugs in school? What are you thinking?"

Ripping her arm from her mother's grip, Kylee stopped, forcing Kris to have to stop right with her. She glared fiercely at her, receiving the very same glare. "I told you! It isn't mine! I took it from Jake! He had it in his back pack! I asked him where he got it, but he...!" She was yelling.

Kris shook her head as she shoved her fists onto her waist. She just could not believe this! "Jake? Give me a break, Kylee! Where would an eleven year old boy get a bag of weed? He's eleven years old! Why would he have weed?" She snapped right back.

"I don't know! Why don't you ask him? Why ask me?" Kylee demanded, throwing her hands up in the air. "He's the one who had it! I just took it from him!"

Shaking her head, Kris reached over and grabbed her daughter by the arm and started dragging her towards the black and white police cruiser. "I cannot believe this! Kylee! I can't believe you are blaming your little brother for you having drugs in YOUR locker! What am I suppose to do with you? I can't be babysitting you all freaking week! I have a job to do for this city!" She growled as she went straight to Barricade and grabbed the back door, nearly ripping it open.

"HEY! Watch it!" Barricade barked, when his back door was thrown open like it had been.

Both Kris and Kylee gasped and leapt back at the very sound of his voice belting out of the radio system. A small shriek even had escaped from the teenager, while a look of embarrassment and anger flashed on the older woman's face. She gave a weary, impatient sigh as she rolled her eyes up towards the sky. "Jesus Christ! I am so sorry, Barricade! I almost forgot about you!" She said rubbing her weary forehead.

Kylee scampered backwards, still looking wide eyed at the Decepticon. She looked like she was about to freak out after hearing a disembodied voice escape a car. A car with no one in it. "What the hell is this? Did this car just freaking talk?" She yelped as she gripped her backpack.

"Just watch what you're doing, organic female." Barricade merely growled out as he swung his rear door back and forth as if trying to work out the strain.

Kris shook her head, rolling her eyes again before she looked at her shocked daughter. She didn't want to deal with this right now. "Kylee, this is Barricade. He's basically my new patrol car for a while. And partner." She said, almost forcing out the last word, even as the Decepticon growled at the word. "Barricade, this is my oldest, Kylee."

Still staring wide eyed at the car, Kylee stepped closer. She looked inside and out before noticing the strange insignia in the back, along with the words. She narrowed her eyes in surprise and confusion before looking back at her mother. "Is this...is one of those Auto..." She was saying.

"Call me a fragging Autobot, and you're both walking from now on." Barricade growled in irritation.

Kris reached over and lightly slapped the roof of the black and white Decepticon. "Cool it. What else is she suppose to think? No one knows about you and the others joining up with the Autobots and helping them. So shut it." She remarked dryly before looking back at her daughter. "He's a Decepticon."

"One of the freaking bad guys that they were talking about on the news?" Kylee yelped out, completely stunned.

"Yup!" Barricade said almost too cheerfully.

Rolling her eyes again, Kris folded her arms and shook her head. "I'll explain tonight. Now get in. We need to go get Jake." She said, moving towards the passenger side door. She reached over to pull it open before it swung open all on its own. She raised an eyebrow at the empty driver's seat.

"Hey. I'm not about to let you try and rip off my door again." Barricade warned with a growl.

Again, Kris rolled her eyes before looking back at Kylee who had not even moved from where she was standing. She gave her an impatient look as she rest one arm on Barricade's door. "Kylee, just get in." She told her.

Kylee shook her head, looking completely stunned and nervous as she looked Barricade over. She did not want to get in this car. Especially when it was a living thing. "No. Way. I am not riding in this thing." She said, stepping back.

"Believe me. The feeling's mutual, human. You both can walk for all I fragging care." Barricade said in a dead panned way.

"You! Shut up! Unless you want to have another chat with that big guy again!" Kris snapped at Barricade before shooting her daughter a look. "Kylee, get in the car! Now! Your brother is waiting for us to pick him up and I am not going to make him wait any longer! Now get in! Or you're grounded!"

Giving her a dry look, Kylee shifted her weight and shook her head. She didn't want to ride in Barricade. No way. "I thought I was already grounded." She remarked in a dry way.

"Get. In. The. Car! And yes! You are grounded! You are grounded for two weeks! For drug possession! And getting suspended!" Kris snapped before jabbing a finger towards the open rear door. "Get in! NOW!"

Huffing, Kylee looked impatiently away before she marched over and threw her bag into the back. She jumped in and reached for the door, which shut before she could touch it. She jumped, watching it with a startled look before watching her mother slid into the passenger seat and the door shut for her too. "This is so weird." She remarked, eyeing the empty driver's seat.

"Again," Barricade remarked though this time with a dry chuckle. "The feeling is mutual. Where to next, organic...?"

"Will you stop calling me that? Officer Hepherr or even Kris will do." Kris said impatiently before jabbing her finger towards another building just down the street from the high school. "Las Vegas Elementary school."

Grumbling, Barricade drove towards the smaller building. He couldn't believe he was putting up with this. He felt like a fragging taxi, driving these humans around. But what choice did he have, really? He didn't want to hear it from Soundwave or that annoying slagging Autobot, Prowl. And her certainly didn't want to hear it from Starscream.

Because if anyone knew the Seeker Leader better, than the Decepticons, when Starscream started screaming at you, he really lived up to his name. It was enough to make one's audio receivers burst.

Pulling up to the front of the school, Barricade saw a young dark skinned boy just sitting there on the steps of the school, hugging his back pack. He was rather small for his age. He had slightly long hair, but it was pulled back into many braids to the nape of his neck. He wore dark blue jeans and a black tee shirt under a white and gray vest jacket. He looked rather gloomy just sitting there.

But what caught Barricade's attention was a dark mark on the side of his face. He didn't have to scan the boy to know that he had been hit by something. He couldn't think that it was Kris who had done it. She might have been a glitchy femme but she didn't take him as the violent kind towards any kids.

"Jake!" Kris said climbing out and making her way over to the boy, who was now frowning at the driverless car. He didn't look at his mother as he gathered up his back pack and stood up. "Jake, I am sorry we're a little late. We just...what is that?"

The boy, Jake Hepherr quickly looked at her before he turned his bruised face away from her, rubbing it. "It's nothing, mom." He murmured.

"Uh-uh! No, don't you try and hide it." Kris remarked, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look back at her so she could see it. Her eyes lit up wide before she looked into his eyes. "What the hell is this, Jake? Where did this come from? Did someone hit you? Is it those bullies again?"

With embarrassment, Jake tugged his face out of her hand and shook his head. "It wasn't them, mom! I got hit in the face by a ball during gym. I swear!" He tried to reassure her.

Taking a deep breath, Kris stood up straight and looked quite worn out by the day's events. She sure looked tired from where Barricade was sitting. He did a quick scan to see that she was a little stressed out. "Do I need to ask your teacher about this?" She asked, wearily.

"Mom! It was a ball!" Jake whined looking up at her with a grumpy look.

Rolling her eyes, Kris placed her arm around the boy's shoulders and steered him towards the black and white police cruiser. "Jake, we will be talking about this later. In the mean time, let's just go home." She told him.

The boy heaved his own sigh before frowning at the driverless police car. "Uh, mom. Didn't you drive here?" He asked, looking rather uneasy.

Scratching her head, Kris looked back at Barricade and shrugged. "No. I didn't. Jake, this is Barricade. He's one of those alien robot guys. And before you ask if he's an Autobot, he's not." She said quickly when her son's eyes lit up and he actually looked excited. Even with Barricade starting to growl his engine in warning before the words left the boy's mouth.

However, that made Jake's eyes lit up brighter and a wide grin spread out on his face. "You mean that's one of those Decepticon guys? COOL!" He belted out.

Barricade chuckled as he looked the boy over. "Hm. I see someone actually has a good judge of character." He said with amusement.

Grinning, Jake hurried forward, looking the Decepticon over. He was nodding as if he was impressed. "Cool, man! A Saleen Mustang! You go like really fast, right? Can we speed home? How fast can you go?" He asked, excitedly, earning a chuckle from the Decepticon.

Kris gave Barricade a dead look. "We are not going to speed home, Jake. And you, Barricade, are not going to show us how fast you can go. Got that? Now open up your back door." She said dryly and earned an impatient huff. She rolled her eyes and shifted her weight. "Please?"

The rear door swung open and allowed the boy to climb in.

"That's all it takes, femme." Barricade said with a chuckle.

Again, rolling her eyes, Kris went over and climbed into the passenger side. "Stop calling me that. Will it really hurt you to call me by name or something?" She asked impatiently.

"No. But it amuses me of your reaction." Barricade barked with laughter when Kris glared at his dashboard and the two kids in the back seat laughed. "All right. Where to next? You want me to run you out for ice cream next?"

Kris shot her kids a look when they started to cheer their yeses. "No! No ice cream! One, Kylee, you're grounded. And two, it's time to go home, get your homework done, get dinner going and then it's off to bed." She said in a very stern tone. She glared at the dashboard when the Decepticon started to chuckle. "As for you, you just drive us home, all right?"

Barricade would have rolled his eyes if he could in his vehicle mode. "Geez. I really signed myself up for something, didn't I? If I would have known I was going to get stuck with a bossy human femme, I probably would have stayed at the Autobots' fragging base." He grumbled but started driving.

"So! How fast can you go? Are you really a Decepticon? Is it cool being a bad guy? So why are you working with the Autobots now? Are you really working with the Autobots? What do you look like in robo mode?" Jake Hepherr asked rather excitedly while his mother groaned and planted her face into her hand.

Barricade, however, grinned to himself. He might not like humans very much but this human boy was actually amusing him. As if he thought would have ever been possible. But it was sure turning out that way.


	24. Revealing Bad Information

Everyone was really tense on the base with the Decepticons wandering around, exploring areas and such. Everyone could pretty much see and feel the tension in the air and it was really unsettling for everyone. There were a few times where the humans couldn't wander anywhere without seeing the Autobots and the Decepticons glaring at one another. So it couldn't be helped when humans would hurry away from the metallic giants, not wanting to get caught up in a fight when or if one broke out.

And if that wasn't enough, things weren't going so well with Cole either. Nor her father.

Neither one would really talk to one another; or at least Cole wouldn't talk to Keller. She couldn't stand being in the same room as he was. Every time she saw him, she either glared at him or walked right out. She wouldn't even let him try and seek her out. It was frustrating for him.

But after a few days, it couldn't be helped. Because sooner or later, Cole would need to be called out to ask about the Department.

When it happened, things didn't seem to go very well.

It was only a couple of days after Starscream had been repaired by Dawn and the All Spark energy. Things were definitely a little interesting with the Decepticons. Most people just ignored them or avoided them. But not the former Department Agent. Cole, in fact, could be seen watching the Decepticons carefully while they wandered around the Base. Of course, it was only Starscream, Skywarp, Groundhog and Nemesis Strika that she got to watch. Due to the fact that Soundwave, Soundwave's team and Barricade were in Las Vegas with Prowl.

Cole didn't really find any interest in the other Decepticons other than Starscream or Nemesis Strika, however. She mostly just ignored the Decepticon Medic and the other Seeker. She would watch them now and then but mostly she was always found watching the newly dubbed Decepticon Leader or the Decepticon Femme, much to their annoyance.

As it was, the Decepticons were in the main hangar, conversing with each other or watching some of the Autobots as their interacted with the humans.

Groundhog, at the moment, was actually speaking to Ratchet and going over files like Keller had requested that they would do. Jolt was with them, of course, cautiously peering at the Decepticon Medic but not complaining about it. Ratchet, however, amazed quite a lot of people and his fellow Autobots when he actually treated Groundhog like a colleague or an equal. There was no resentment between the two Medicbots as they worked together, discussing the reviews on some of the major hospitals located all over the U.S. And Groundhog showed no resentment towards the Autobot Chief Medical Officer either, much to his fellow Cons' surprise.

It was obvious that Optimus was pleased with how the two were getting along. He didn't say anything about it or against it, but it was obvious that he was pretty happy about it. It did give everyone an outlook that maybe there would be able to be peace between Autobots and Decepticons.

Well, it was mostly Skywarp who was surprised and Nemesis Strika was disgusted. Starscream didn't give a slag either way. He would now and then glance over at his fellow Decepticon, watching carefully before going back to looking around with some interest of the happenings of the base. Nemesis Strika, however, was avoiding all humans and Autobot contact as much as possible. She was mostly found sitting in a corner, glaring at the much smaller beings like they were annoying ants that she was dying to step on. She complained loudly, however, when Elita One or Ultra Magnus were constantly standing by, watching her.

But after Starscream threatened her to give Ratchet permission to deactivate her vocal processor, she kept a little quieter with her complaining. And of course, she was the one who noticed that Cole was watching them with a curious but also suspicions look as she sat on a crate.

"What the frag are you staring at, pitspawn?" Nemesis Strika growled as she zeroed in a glare aimed right at the auburn watching them. She didn't even hide her disgust for her one bit.

Cole tore her eyes away from watching Starscream as he had been talking with Skywarp to look over at the smoky colored Decepticon before frowning dryly. She wasn't sure what a pitspawn was but she was pretty sure that it was an insult. "What, is it a crime to be staring at possible enemies?" She growled right back at the femme Decepticon.

Hearing the hard tones each of the females were throwing at each other forced many eyes and optics to look between the two. And many had tensed up to see the burning glares that were being thrown across the room.

Growling, Nemesis Strika narrowed her glaring optics at Cole, her cannons clicking a little in a threatening way. "Keep your fragging eyes elsewhere, human scum!" She snarled.

Cole frowned before sneering at her as she pushed herself off the crate and folded her arms. "I will look where ever the fuck I want, you robot bitch. And if I want to stare at you just to irritate you, I will." She growled right back.

Snarling, Nemesis Strika started to rise to her feet. She was ready to smash this human female into the ground, creating a bloody splatter on the Autobot Base floor. She even started to charge up her cannons, ignoring that many of the Autobots had tensed up and even quickly shifted their cannons out.

"Nemesis Strika! Stand down!" Starscream sneered, clearly amused of how a puny human being could annoy someone that annoyed him.

Growling, Nemesis Strika turned a glare onto him, looking quite defiant. She didn't want to listen to someone like him. But seeing him glaring right back at her; his fellow Seeker glaring right with him to back him up, she flicked her arm and put her cannons away. She shook her head as she spun away and started marching towards the huge hangar doors. "Fragging son of..." She muttered, obviously cursing Starscream. She really started going when she realized that Elita One started to follow her.

"Starscream, we might have to do something about her." Skywarp muttered as he relaxed after the Decepticon Femme left the hangar. "You know she's going to try and stab you in the wings."

Starscream, still glaring after Nemesis Strika, shook his head. "When the time comes, I will deal with her. She even tries, I will offline her so painfully and then send her fragging head back to her back stabbing Minicon sparkmate. Not that fragging Obsidian will care. He's not the same Decepticon we once knew." He then tore his burning glare away from the empty hangar doors and looked over at Cole who was giving him quite the eyeful. "What, human? What are you staring at?" He growled at her next.

Cole narrowed her eyes at the Decepticon Seeker before shaking her head and shifting her weight to her other foot. "Nothing. I'm just trying to figure you out. Is that really such a crime against you?" She asked with irritation.

Some in the room looked surprised while Starscream narrowed his optics at her. He turned to face her completely before taking a few steps closer, causing her to crane her head back a little. "And why in the name of Primus are you trying to do that?" He growled at her.

A mere shrug.

"Curiosity, I suppose." Cole answered somewhat dryly. She then dropped her arms to her side, dipping her head down a little, yet still looking right up at the Seeker. "You seem different from what I keep hearing about."

There was an almost surprised pause. The statement did throw off the so called Decepticon Leader a little and even his optics lit up as he drew back a little from her. That wasn't something he was expecting to come out of this female's mouth. It made him wonder exactly what she was even thinking about. "Explain." He demanded, not even requesting it.

Cole raised an eyebrow at him before she hummed softly to herself as if pondering the demand. And then she shook her head, folding her arms again and sticking out her hip to the side. "Ah...how about no?" She would have smirked when the Seeker started growling at her in irritation. "I don't answer to demands. You want to know, maybe you should try asking politely." She sneered at him in a very sarcastic way.

Starscream growled at her, narrowing his burning optics. His patience was starting to run thin for this human female. "I'm a Decepticon, THE Decepticon Leader, human. I don't ask politely." He growled at her.

Huffing in dry amusement, Cole merely raised an eyebrow at him as she gave him an equally dry smile. "Maybe you should start." She said, wondering exactly how far she could go in pushing Starscream's buttons and causing him to break.

Again, Starscream growled and even started to take a step towards her. But he was interrupted.

"Agent Cole!"

Heads jerked around to see that Hound was now making his way across the hangar, looking somewhat uneasily between the human and the Decepticon. It was obvious he noticed the little confrontation that the two were having with one another. But he seemed to have a reason for interrupting because he walked right over to them before bending to one knee and offering his hand towards Cole, who stepped back and gave him quite the look.

"Agent Cole, would you mind accompanying with me to the IT Room? Maggie, Glenn, Anya and Leo Spitz have finally managed to decode a few of the Department files we have and we figured that maybe you can help us with a few more. There are a lot of it that don't make sense." Hound stated with a friendly Country boy drawl.

Twisting her mouth a little in thought, Cole considered it. She looked as if she was going to deny his request before she shrugged and stepped up into the Autobot's hand. Only from a brief glance she saw Starscream stiffening and not looking too happy that their little argument had been interrupted. She smirked inwardly before looking up at Hound. "All right. I've been wondering when you techno geeks were going to come bug me about the Department crap." She remarked dryly.

"Hey!" Starscream tried to protest. "We're not done here!"

Cole gave him an impatient, but dry smirk as she was lifted up by a rather hesitant Hound. She folded her arms as she shrugged, looking at Starscream. "Well, I am done here. If you really want to know what I was even talking about, then come along, flying tincan. Because this takes more priority than your little pride." She then looked at Hound, who was grimacing as he glanced uneasily at the Decepticon Leader. "All right, you. Take me to where ever you need me." She told him.

Hound, again, glanced over at Starscream before he turned and started to go back the way he came. He was waiting for the Decepticon to come after him, demanding that his business was finished with the human female in his hand. He cringed a little when he heard the heavy foot falls right behind him and he glanced back to see that Starscream was, indeed, following him. He hesitated into going any further and looked back at the Decepticon.

Of course, some of the other Autobots tensed up and gave Starscream a look of warning, daring him to attack Hound and Cole as they thought he would.

But Starscream gave the metallic green Autobot a rather annoyed look and jerked his head for the Autobot IT to keep on walking. "Go, Autobot. I'm just coming along with you. I'm actually curious about this so called dangerous Department threat. I want to see what I can be told about these…" He couldn't even think of the right word for the humans who threatened their kind. More or less, had threatened the human younglings.

"Uh…" Hound said rather hesitantly.

"It's all right, Hound." Optimus spoke up from where he had been standing near the IT room, watching his Autobots and the Decepticons very carefully for what he thought would have been a fight. He was only relieved to see that Starscream was keeping his word about not starting anything with his mechs. "I think we should inform Starscream and the Decepticons of what is threatening us." The Autobot Leader spoke firmly.

There was a few silent protests from some of the other Autobots but they were ignored.

Hound, again, hesitated but nodded as he looked back at Starscream before going on to into the IT room. He wanted nothing more than to pick up his pace to keep a fair distance away from the Decepticon Seeker that was following after him. He didn't like the idea of showing his back to him, even though there had been a deal struck between Optimus and Starscream. It was just the idea of having a Decepticon right behind him that made him uneasy.

Entering the IT room, everyone found that the human hackers and Intelligence specialists were working in front of the large screen of Teletraan. All of them were looking quite flustered and annoyed about something.

It was probably due to the fact that the screen was flashing a warning signal.

Starscream and Skywarp immediately halted and looked at Teletraan warily. They weren't sure what was going on but by the looks of what was being said across the screen, there was a large amount of Decepticons approaching the base. The problem was, their sensors weren't going off. They didn't sense any other Decepticons approaching the Autobot base.

"Oh." Hound muttered with a sigh when he saw what was going on. He walked right over to the large desk the humans were working furiously on and carefully set Cole down, who was frowning in alarm. "Not again."

"What's happening with your Teletraan unit?" Starscream asked as he slowly approached the desk, staring hard at the screen.

Hearing his voice had every one of the humans halt and look over at him with alarm and uneasiness. They really didn't want to be anywhere near a Decepticon like him. Even if he had a temporarily truce with the Autobots or not.

Merely glancing over his shoulder at the Decepticon Leader, Hound sighed and shook his head as he waved a hand over Maggie and Anya to move. They were quick to stepping off to the side so he could have better access to Teletraan. "Over a year ago, when Cataclysm and Scourge attacked our old base, that pitspawn Pretender King put a virus inside of Teletraan. I managed to purge most of it out, but there are still bugs in Teletraan's system. He goes haywire now and then, shoot up proximity alarms and sending us on wild goose chases for the Deceptiscu...uh!" He shot a wince over his shoulder when both Starscream and Skywarp glared at him. "Um...I mean, the Decepticons! It does it for Energon waves too but every time we go looking for it, we find nothing. Scourge really tore Teletraan apart with his virus."

Starscream sniffed before making his way closer to study the AI system before he shook his head. "Move out of the way, Autobot dog." He growled, nearly shoving the Autobot IT out of the way.

Everyone in the room tensed up and Jetfire even started to growl as he took a step closer. It was due to the fact that Anya was in grabbing reach of Starscream, even though she was inching back slowly with Maggie, Glenn and Leo. All of them were looking wide eyed up at him, trying their best not to catch the Decepticon Leader's attention.

"Hey! What do you think...?" Hound and Wheeljack both started to demand.

Starscream shot them an irritated look before raising his servos and began typing away at the Cybertronian keyboard. "Shush! You want the problem solved or not?" He demanded, making everyone freeze again.

Tilting his head to the side, Optimus moved a little closer to look over Starscream's wings, just to see what he was doing. He held up a hand to his two smartest Autobots to let it go when they started to protest about Starscream even touching Teletraan. They looked surprised but he ignored them. He was rather curious to see what Starscream intended to do.

"Optimus..." Wheeljack began uneasily.

But again, Optimus waved a hand at him, even watching Starscream carefully. He knew what the brilliant scientist was worried about. The Decepticon Leader and Commander of the Seekers could be trying to make things worst with Teletraan. He could have easily been leading them on and even try to project their Base's coordinates to Galvatron and the Minicons.

But...deep down in his Spark, he just had that feeling.

"Starscream, what are you doing?" Optimus finally asked as he watched Starscream gain access to Teletraan's deepest system units.

Starscream snorted without even looking over his shoulder at the much taller Cybertronian but kept his optics firmly on the screen. "I'm fixing your fragging problem, Prime. I wasn't the top of my class in Cybertronian science and research for nothing, you know!" He growled at him before pulling up some very complicated looking programs.

There was a slight intake of breath as Hound and Wheeljack moved closer, watching what Starscream was doing carefully. But when they saw what program he had pulled up, they looked sorely interested and amazed. "Hey! That's Teletraan's...!" The Autobot IT started.

"Exactly, you slow processing fragging imbecile." Starscream chuckled darkly to himself, fully aware of the sharp glare that Hound had just shot at him. "If I know Scourge very well, which I should because of how long I was forced to work with that son of a glitch, I know exactly what virus unit he used on your Teletraan system. I've had the liberty of stealing a sample many eons ago and studied it. It is a computer viral insecticon AI, if you want to call it that. Once its placed in a CPU system, it burrows down as deep into the system as it can to avoid detection and extraction. There is only one way to purge it out of the system."

Without another word, the Seeker raised his left wrist and pried out an I/O cord before plugging it into the CPU system for Teletraan. His burning red glare flashed once before they began flickering, along with the screen. There was definitely a hint of disruption to Teletraan's processing, causing everyone to tense up again. Especially when the alarms began going off because of Teletraan picking up the intrusion.

"What the slag is going on in here?"

A few heads whipped around to see that Ironhide and Bluestreak had come rushing into the room, only to start growling when they saw that it was Starscream messing with Teletraan. But before they could storm forward to stop him, Optimus waved them off.

A few moments later, Teletraan's screen flashed brightly before Starscream disconnected his I/O cord, allowing it to roll up back into his wrist. He wasted no time to popping open a compartment in his chassis, catching a small glass container that withheld a strange looking spark within it. The color of the spark was an acid green, which surprised all.

"Hmph. You're welcome, idiot Autobots." Starscream sneered as he held up the container and glared hard at the spark inside of it.

"Is that it?" Wheeljack asked, quite fascinated.

Dipping his head into a nod, Starscream didn't even look at him as he glared at the spark before enclosing his hand around the container. "Yup. And now, we get the chance to say goodbye." He remarked as he opened up a compartment on his forearm to activate an EMP jolt.

"Wait, Starscream! What are you doing? Isn't that a sentient?" Wheeljack asked immediately holding up his hands as if to stop the Seeker.

Rolling his eyes, Starscream shook his head as he gave him an impatient look. "No. It's not. It's a viral insecticon, you idiot! If I don't disrupt it and deactivate it, it could get out and make a bigger mess than you fragging good doers would like! You saw what it was doing to your Teletraan One system! Just imagine what it would do if it got into your precious humans' Intelligence systems! I am doing your humans and you fragging good doers a favor by destroying this thing!" He growled before punching the activation code and watched as a sharp jolt of electricity erupted from his servos into the container.

There was a screeching pop before the spark was gone, leaving only black marks against the glass.

"Well...that was...interesting." Jetfire was the first one to chuckle.

Starscream smugly hummed before he moved back as Hound hurried forward and began running diagnostics on Teletraan. He looked even more smug when the Autobot failed to find any more problems. "You're welcome." He said sarcastically.

Hound turned and looked back at Starscream with surprise and awe. "How did you do that? I've been trying to purge the virus for over a year now! A year! And I'm not shabby with computer systems! Especially with Teletraan! Me and Wheeljack are nearly the only ones who can run Teletraan efficiently! And Ratchet, too, of course! So how did...?"

Impatiently, Starscream sighed and shook his head. "As I said, I know Scourge's stupid virus units. I studied his computer viruses after all. Be glad that it wasn't a human's computer system or even your own that he infected his virus with. Though, that would have been amusing to watch one of you goody good doers run around in circles, slipping slowly into a pit of madness and rubbing your tin can heads against the ground just to get it out." He stated.

None of the Autobots were highly amused to even hear that.

No one but Jetfire, that is. The oldest Cybertronian there actually started chuckling and shaking his head. "Trust it be Starscream who figured out what was wrong with Teletraan." He muttered with amusement and receiving quite the un-amused looks.

Optimus, however, just chuckled himself before shaking his head as he looked at Starscream. "I thank you on our behalf, Starscream. Hound has been working furiously to taking care of that virus. It has been driving him up the wall trying to find the source of Teletraan's defectiveness." He stated, earning a pouting look from the metallic green Autobot.

Surprisingly to all, Starscream nodded in understanding. "I'm sure it was driving him nuts, Prime. Scourge is no fool when it comes to his computer viral units. He uses only the worst computer viruses in existence. I believe he found this one near the Gamma Delta S point four system on a planet called..." The name of the planet couldn't even have even been translated into English, which made many of the humans grimace.

"So, are we going to just stand here all day and chit chat or are you guys going to have me look at the Department information or what?" Cole spoke up, somewhat annoyed that they hadn't even gotten started on why she was there in the first place.

Everyone looked at her in surprise, almost forgetting why they had even come into the IT room in the first place. Hound's cooling fans kicked on before he looked at his human IT counterparts. "Oh! That's right! Maggie, Glenn, Anya and Leo, pull up the Department files." He told them.

"Right!" Maggie immediately perked up, ignoring the fact that Starscream was only standing several feet away now. She turned to her human sized computer she had been working on before uploading the Department files that she and her fellow humans had been working on. "All right. Department files up and running." She looked up at Teletraan's screen with a nod as they were pulled up for everyone to see. She had the files all in a row but it was the Project Machination file that she pulled up, revealing the old film picture of the men near the pile of scrap metal that they were sure that was a Cybertronian.

None the less, seeing that picture, Starscream's optics lit up in surprise, as did Skywarp's.

"So, Agent Cole!" Maggie spoke up as she turned to look at the former Department Agent, who returned the look with a bored look on her face. "What's Project Machination? How many Agents are there? What is the Department exactly? Do you know anything about this picture? What happened...?" She was beginning to ask.

Grimacing at the many questions already starting to come out of the younger blonde's mouth, Cole raised a hand and shook her head. "Whoa, whoa. Slow down, kid. I can only answer one question at a time. But the answers to all of those in order? I don't know exactly. I've only heard of the term for Project Machination. It's some project that I know my boss...excuse me, ex-boss, Hollander was working on. Something about mixing the alien and human technologies together. But I don't know any of the direct details. Two, there are more Department Agents than I can even begin to tell you about. Three, the Department is just like Sector Seven. Only it once studied Alien Warfare and Weaponry. As for that picture, this is the first time I've even first seen it. So I don't know anything about it."

Maggie flushed while Glenn snickered, along with a fair few others. Surprisingly, one of them had been Starscream, earning surprised looks from Autobots and humans. Cole had merely glanced up at him as if asking him what he was laughing about before looking back at the blushing blonde.

"Sorry! I guess my mind is racing with questions. But that does help a little. Let's start with the first one again, what is Project Machination?" Maggie asked, embarrassed.

Cole shook her head before looking around, mostly stopping her eyes on Optimus who was frowning at the picture on the screen. It was obvious that he was studying it carefully. He was probably trying to figure out who the torn up Cybertronian was in it. "I just said." The former Agent remarked dryly before shrugging. "I don't know what the exact details were. Mostly my area of expertise was tracking down people who annoyed the Department, beating the shit out of them or even killing them."

"So you have killed people."

Hearing that voice made Cole's face fall darkly before she turned her eyes onto the floor where she found SecDef John Keller looking up at her. She really did not want to deal with him right now. So she looked around at everyone else. "Anyway, Project Machination, as far as I even knew about, was under lock and key. Not even many of the Agents even knew about it. It was just something that was basically an urban legend in the facilities. We heard humors about it, but not very much." She explained without even looking at her father.

Hound and Wheeljack glanced at one another before looking back at her. "You said that is was about mixing Cybertronian and human technologies together? How so?" The Autobot Scientist; aka Walking Explosive asked curiously.

Again, Cole shrugged. "Can't tell you all of the details other than what I've heard. I never did go ask questions until recently. That being that I was ordered to kill the kid, Rex Rory." She saw Starscream react to that. She glanced up in time to see him narrowing his burning eyes at her but she ignored him and went on. "The rumors I heard about the project was just that. I overheard Hollander saying something about building weapons with alien technology we managed to steal from Sector Seven before it was disbanded."

"WHAT?"

Everyone ignored Simmons, however.

"Building weapons? From the Cybertronian technology or the weapon systems they have?" Maggie asked, frowning in alarm like everyone else.

Cole half shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know. I think it was both." She then wagged her finger towards the picture. "I've never seen this picture, but I did hear something about it. It was a part of the recruiting crap when I was brought in. Hollander was the one who talked about it. When we were first brought in, we were told that there was a preparation for an Alien Invasion. That's what the whole Department was actually about. We were preparing to defend the Earth from you guys. We didn't know what you were doing coming here. I didn't even believe that you guys even existed until I watched some of the footage that Hollander showed us. Until he showed us one of the aliens...or one of you guys."

Everyone stared at her in surprise. It wasn't hard to figure out what she was talking about. Both Starscream and Skywarp even started to growl at the thought.

"You have one of our kind in your oily possession?" It was the warper who growled.

Cole glanced at him but shook her head. "Had. And it wasn't exactly one of you guys. It was one of those creations that Sector Seven kept creating right off that cube thing. One of our insiders managed to steal one of the small robots that they made right off the energy radiation and bring it to our facility. They used it for a while, examining it, studying it so we could figure out how the thing even worked. But it wasn't efficient. Hollander wasn't happy with it, from what I heard. It wasn't exactly alien. It was created on Earth from Alien Technology. So he had it destroyed during our little orientation. He showed how vicious it was, how primitive and...?"

"That was a Sparkling, you fragging glitch!" Starscream snarled, surprising everyone again. Many of the Autobots revved up their weapons, looking quite tense but did not look any happier than the two Decepticons did.

Cole frowned up at him, but more out of curiosity than annoyance that he was insulting her again. "A what?" She asked.

"It was a fragging Sparkling! What you humans call baby!" Starscream growled, glaring down at her. "Any one of us, Cybertronians, know what exactly comes off the All Spark! You humans have been creating Sparklings and then destroying them before they could even be taught how to behave! They weren't primitive or vicious!"

There was an awkward pause before even Keller looked wide eyed up at Optimus. "Is that true?" He asked breathlessly.

Optimus glanced down at him, frowning but shook his head. "I am...not exactly sure. We have not had possession of the All Spark for nearly a millennia. So we were unaware that Sparklings were actually being conceived of the cube." He sighed, lowering his head. "But...I am sure that Starscream would know. He is older than I am by a good thousand years. So he probably does know more about Sparklings than I do." He admitted.

Skywarp nodded as he folded his arms. "I should say so. Screamer, here," He ignored the vicious glare shot at him by his aerial brother. "He's been studying furiously of ways to creating Sparklings without the All Spark for a long time. He never was happy when Lord Megatron had ordered the Iacon Sparkling Foundation, a baby nursery for the humans to understand, to be destroyed. OW! Starscream!" He yelped when his Commander began beating him over the head with a hand.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" The Decepticon Leader demanded as he continued to slap him over the head. It earned a few chuckles from everyone around them.

"So it was Megatron who gave that order?" Jetfire asked darkly. "I thought so. Stupid fragging glitch head he was. Murdering all of those Sparklings." He growled before spitting Energon on the floor at the very thought.

However, Cole was looked a little shaken. "Sparklings are robot babies?" She asked almost in horror.

Everyone frowned at her but nodded. "Yes. I'm afraid so. However, without the All Spark, we can no longer have Sparklings around. They have been the first..." Optimus was saying.

Quickly Cole guessed what he was going to say and shook her head as she looked wide eyed up at him. "Are you telling me that we have been torturing, experimenting and even killing babies?" She demanded, quite furious.

Everyone stared down at her in surprise. The two Decepticon Seekers, included. Just by the sound of Cole's voice, she was pretty furious and shaken up to even think that the Department had been hurting babies. Even if it was just alien robotic babies. They could tell that it was unsettling very well for her to even have that knowledge.

"I'm afraid so." It was Jetfire who stated it, looking at her almost softly. "It seems that no matter what the species or race is, you still care for children." He murmured mostly to himself.

Cole ignored him on that one. But she didn't deny it.

Instead, she looked at the ground, shaking her head as her brow furrowed in anger and frustration. It was definitely an interesting sight for the Decepticons to even see. "Oh, my god. Just had to make it worst." She groaned before placing a hand against her forehead as if she had a headache. And after a second, she snapped her attention back to Optimus. "You said that the All Spark was the only way for your kind to even create sparklings, right?"

Optimus nodded. "Yes, unfortunately. It was the only way we could even repopulate. And now that it seems that the Department has destroyed the very last Sparkling created by it, we cannot..." He was saying.

Cole immediately shook her head, looking wide eyed up at him. "Oh, I wouldn't say that, Optimus Prime! Because if what you're saying is true," She looked wide eyed up at Starscream. "The Department has been performing experiments on those created from that cube thing! The ones that Sector Seven forced the radiation energy from. Believe me, the one so called robot baby that Hollander had destroyed for our little orientation...it wasn't the only one he had!"

Another awkward, unsettling pause.

"How...many more Sparklings does the Department have?" It was Glenn who asked uneasily.

Cole shook her head with a sigh as she looked wearily away. She reached up and ran her fingers through her thick red hair, scratching the back of her head as she tried to think. "Fifty if I remember right. They were numbered as far as I remember looking at the spread sheets. There were about fifty of those things...those Sparklings that were still alive and being experimented on. Of course, some of them might have died off by now by what Hollander was doing to them. He wasn't subtle about using torturous experiments on them." She explained.

There was another uneasy silence. Everyone was staring at Cole with alarm and growing anger. The Decepticons were both growling as they glared down at her while some of the Autobots looked at each other, trying to decide what the other was feeling about the whole thing.

"Are you trying to tell us that your boss is hurting babies? Defenseless, innocent babies?" It was Anya who asked, horrified to even think about it.

Cole looked over at her, eyebrow raised as she folded her arms. "They weren't defenseless when Sector Seven first even created them." She said dryly.

Both Maggie and Glenn made a face, along with Keller. They remembered seeing Nokia cell phone that once belonged to Glenn be turned into a transformer. They remembered all too well that the first thing it had done was start destroying the glass box that it had been trapped in.

"Nonetheless, it wasn't even my idea to do anything to those things in the first place." Cole continued, giving Starscream and Skywarp a dark look for their growling at her. "I didn't have anything to do with the experiments being done on the...well, Sparklings."

"Who is this Hollander anyway? What kind of cowardly pitspawn would harm Sparklings? What is his position in the Department?" Wheeljack asked, rather darkly.

Cole looked up at him before scrunching her face a little to even think about it. She didn't know exactly how to describe her former boss. "Doctor Hollander. That's all we knew about his identity. He was a scientist for Sector Three when it was still in operation. He was actually the Head of that Sector, if I remember right. He was researching on alien weapons, mostly studying the weapon systems that whole NBE-One thing..." She was saying.

"Megatron." Starscream, Skywarp and Jetfire all said dryly while everyone else ignored them.

"Right. Whatever. Anyway, I wasn't even a part of the Department when Sector Three was shut down. But I did hear about it. When S 3 was shut down, Hollander was pretty upset about being into retirement. He basically said that S 7 was killing him by taking away his research facilities and even all of the hard work he put into developing weapons from alien technology. He honestly believed that whatever more alien robots came to Earth, he was sure that they were coming to invade Earth. Or that's what he was sprouting about when we were recruiting.

"Anyway, he along with the Director, who we don't even know about, founded the Department. They used deep underground resources to even build the Department from what they even had. It just got bigger from there. Hollander is basically the Second In Command of the Department. He was the top notch scientist, always sneaking into Sector Seven facilities and stealing back his research and studies on NBE-One."

"Megatron."

"Whatever!" Cole snapped shooting the three Seekers a snappish look for interrupting with that name again. "Anyway!" She looked back around at everyone. "He's actually someone you don't really want to mess with. He's highly dangerous to people and you alien robots. He is not afraid to get down and dirty to get whatever he wants. You all know that because he sent me and Sean after Rex Rory and his big red friend, to kill the boy and capture the robot." She shook her head with a sigh and dropped her arms to her side. "He's got resources throughout the entire world. The Department has hidden facilities everywhere. They are so deep in the ground that you will not know even begin to know where to dig them out. Hollander, he's something completely different from what you're used to from Sector Seven, people. He's dangerous, he's brutal and he is not afraid to slit throats himself just to get people out of his way of whatever crock and bull shit scheme he has planned out. He will get his hands dirty with blood and grime just to prove a point."

No one liked the sound of this Hollander guy by the way that Cole was even talking about him.

"He sounds like a fragging Decepticon." Ironhide growled, sharing dark looks with the Decepticons in the room.

"No." Cole remarked looking up at the large black Autobot. "I'm afraid he might be a little worst. Your Decepticons," She glanced up at Starscream. "As far as I know, yeah. They will kill people for their own resources, will get into little fights with you guys and the whole shebang. But they're the Department's targets too. Didn't you figure that out when we caught that smoky one, the one you called Nemesis Strika? To the Department, all of you alien robots are a threat to the Earth. At least that's what they're making the Department agents believe. But there's something else about it. Sean and I started to figure things out when we were on the run for our freaking lives. We both talked about it and we came to the conclusion that Hollander is up to something a whole lot more than we even realized. He wouldn't even raise a finger to even spare a teenage boy's life just because he knew a little too much about the Department. And the kid is a fellow human. Hollander wanted me and Sean to kill Rex Rory. A human being. A child! Think about it really hard of what's really going on."

"You mean, this Hollander says he's preparing the entire Department to become the saviors of the world from us," Optimus stated very thoughtfully, yet serious to a fault. "Yet, he's not afraid to kill his own kind just to be rid of us."

Cole nodded sharply as she looked up at the huge Cybertronian before her. She was only too glad that someone was catching on. "I don't know what Hollander is really up to, but I do know it's not good. Not for you, alien robots, not for the human kind and certainly not even good for his own people." She stated.

Again a pause.

Sighing heavily, Keller began rubbing at his eyes, clearly tired from all of the information that they were getting. "We need to find this Hollander then. Find him, arrest him, interrogate him and find out what he's up to." He said wearily.

Cole gave a sharp laugh as she looked dryly down at her father, shaking her head as if that had been the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. "You think that will be easy?" She asked sarcastically, earning an impatient but worn out look from the SecDef, himself. She ignored it. "It's not. Hollander moves around so much between each of the Department facilities, never staying in one place more than a fucking week. Half of the time, Sean and I never got to see him. Truth be told, I only met him about three times in my career as a Department agent. Sean met him more than I have, but even he didn't get to see him very much. Finding Hollander will be like find one single pebble amongst boulders." She then looked thoughtful at a sudden thought. "Of course...there might be one way to find him."

Everyone looked questioningly at her before it dawned on a few of the others. Optimus frowned deeply before slowly nodding. "Your former Department Agents that we are withholding in the Brigg. They should know, should they not?" He asked carefully.

Shrugging and shaking her head, Cole folded her arms again. "There's only one way to find out."

It was easy to say that only one of them kept a level head about the new situation they were even in. Someone had to, at least. While the others were skittish and jumpy about every single noise they even heard, he remained calm, staring towards the entrance of the holding cells, just waiting.

Oh, he knew that sooner or later that one of them would be coming for them. There was no doubt in his mind that sooner or later, they would come and begin asking questions.

Personally, Agent Freddricks hoped that it would be that bitch, Cole Keller. He had a score to settle with her and knew exactly how to get to her. He knew exactly how she ticked. He really owed her for getting him into so much trouble over a year ago. He already settled the score with her pathetic partner. Now it was her turn.

"S-so...wh-what do you think they will do to us?" one of the more timid Agents asked as he sat in a corner, his suit jacket tightly wrapped around him as if he was cold.

Merely glancing over his shoulder at his fellow Agents, Freddricks didn't even want to answer. He couldn't believe he had to work with these idiots as it was. He hadn't even wanted to lead them into this stupid mission to tracking down Cole. He liked it better when he got to work alone.

But nooooo. Orders were orders.

"I bet they're going to drag us into some kind of alien lavatory and dissect us while we're still alive." Another one of the Agents said, more like teasing the other. He was scared about the situation, himself. But he would have done anything just to shake up the timid one.

"Man! We're so going to die!" The terrified Agent wailed, making some of the other Agents snickered while Freddricks glared over at them.

"Will you guys shut the fuck up? Quincy, shut up and stop scaring Marshall!" Freddricks snapped, glaring furiously at them.

Agent Quincy quickly raised his hands in defeat, trying desperately to hide the snicker that was threatening to rise out of him. The others went quiet again, knowing that if they didn't listen to Freddricks, it would be more than likely he would come over and beat them dead. They knew his temper well. While he hadn't been the most violent of the Department Agents like Agent Cole had been, he was still dangerous. His temper nearly matched the ex-Agent. It didn't help that he was large in size as well.

"Do you really think..." Agent Marshall started to ask Freddricks, not really realizing the danger he was treading by speaking up again. But he sure shut up when the bigger Agent began growling threateningly at him. "Shutting up." He murmured in terror.

Just then there was a whoosh, making almost all jump and look wide eyed at the doors. And seeing those coming through it made them cower in fear. All but Freddricks, who snorted and shook his head as he pushed himself to his feet, using the wall to do so. His eyes zeroed in on his primary target and he sneered to see her. "So...you finally decided to come socialize, eh?"

Cole glared at him but didn't move forward because of that pain in the ass Will Lennox having his hand on her shoulder. She would have loved snapping his hand off at the wrist but right at the moment, she was more focused on her most hated rival.

"Agent Freddricks," It was Keller who spoke up, walking just a little ahead at the large feet of Optimus. He was looking grimly at the Department Agents, not happy with them at all. Particularly Freddricks. He had heard what this SOB had done to his daughter and he would have loved nothing better than to get his hands on him. That, or lock him up for the rest of his life in the United State's most dangerous prison.

So far, he was leaning more towards wanting to get his hands on this son of a bitch.

"Agent Freddricks, I think it's time to have a little talk." Keller tried again, his tone very dead. "And I suggest you cooperate."

The only answer the Secretary of Defense got was a cold smirk from the Department Agent. It seemed to all, he was looking forward to having this little talk, himself. And no one could possibly know what was even up his sleeves.


	25. Pushing All Of The Wrong Buttons

The interrogation room that was being used was large enough for the Autobots to stand up in. In truth, it was one for both humans and Decepticons. It was located right next to the Brigg, if not conjoined with it. There was a part of the room that was just for interrogating enemy Cybertronians. That part had rather large chains and wires for hooking up the one being questioned, allowing the machines to lock the Cybertronian in bipedal form and without weapons. The chains were made out of adamantine steel so it would be a little hard for one to break them.

Unfortunately, it had been Ironhide who had tested them out and he hated them as it was. He had tried breaking out of them, using all of the strength he had but they were pretty thick and strong. He even tried activating his weapons, even though it was suppose to be the test, itself. But no so much luck.

It was only when he started threatening everyone that if they didn't get the chains off of him, he would make their lives the living pits.

Everyone believed him and quickly took the chains off.

The human side of the interrogation room was a little bit smaller, obvious. There were about six large hard plastic/glass rooms lined up. Inside each of the rooms, there were bolted down steel tables and chairs with links so that one could be hand cuffed to the chairs. And that was one of those rooms where they were interrogating Freddricks.

However, the interrogation wasn't going so well. Simmons and Will were the ones who tried to interrogate Freddricks, but all the Department agent did was smile smugly as he looked past them at Cole as she stood fuming outside the interrogation room.

The only reason why she was fuming was because Simmons wouldn't let her in to help interrogate her former fellow Agent. It was probably a good thing because all she wanted to do was beat him to hell until he started singing like a canary. She wanted nothing more than just get her hands on him and everyone knew that. That was why Simmons was the one who told her she wasn't going in. And to make things worse, Keller backed him up.

Optimus Prime, Starscream, Jetfire, Skywarp, Ironhide, Hound and Wheeljack were the Cybertronians who standing back and watching the interrogation. It had been an uneasy debate about letting the two Decepticons watch and listen to what was being said. Most of the Autobots who had been in the IT room had tried protesting when Starscream asked Optimus if he could watch. They didn't like the idea at all. They were sure that he was up to something. But Optimus figured out why the Seeker wanted to watch and listen. He could see the mild curiosity in the Decepticon's eyes and knew that he just wanted to see this so called dangerous Department agent. So he allowed it.

As for the interrogation, it just was not going the way that Simmons and Lennox both wanted.

"Hey! Stop looking away from me and answer the questions that we're asking!" Simmons finally snapped when he noticed, once again, that Freddricks wasn't even looking at him. He even slapped his hand against the desk between them to get his attention. "Where are the Department facilities located?"

Impatiently rolling his eyes, Freddricks finally looked over at him and shook his head. He didn't look intimidated whatsoever. "You're not very good at this, are you?" He smirked at the irritated look that Simmons shot at him. "You actually kind of suck. The threats you've been giving me, I honestly don't care about. You can try and lock me up in a federal prison for the rest of my life, but what makes you think I'll end up staying there? And it's obvious that you don't have a clue about my background before the Department because you haven't tried threatening my family, which you would be wasting your time because I don't have one. I don't need a bunch of weak saps being used against met." He then looked past Simmons again at Cole, smirking coldly. "And I won't talk to you. So quit wasting your damn time, pencil neck."

Simmons growled, glaring hard at him. He knew this wasn't going well at all. If anything, it wasn't Freddricks that was intimidated or even getting flustered. It was him, the former Sector Seven agent, who had spent his entire life figuring out a system on interrogation and blackmail.

Will frowned darkly at the Department agent before heaving a sigh and grabbing Simmons' shoulder, pulling him away from the desk. "Simmons, we better rethink this. He's not talking to us. It's not going to work." He whispered to the frustrated agent.

"Well, what do you think we should do then, Captain Obvious?" Simmons growled at him.

Frowning back at him, Will shook his head before tearing his eyes away from him and looking at Cole, who raised an eyebrow at him. He heard Simmons already starting to protest but he waved him off and motioned for the former Department to come in. He ignored the smug look in the woman's eyes before she went to the door, with Keller following behind. Her smug smile was gone, giving him a dark look but she didn't say no to him following her inside.

Cole entered the room with Keller in the tow, her face hardening when she looked right at Freddricks, who was smirking at her. She glared at him but didn't say anything just yet. She just dipped her head down a little, giving him a bitter look before looking at Will. "Well?" She merely asked.

Will, once again, waved Simmons off when he tried to protest. He gave him a look of warning as he kept at it. "Like it or not, Simmons, your way isn't working. He's a Department agent so he probably has had training on interrogations." He looked back at Cole with a heavy sigh. "So why don't we let a former Department agent interrogate the Department agent?" He then motioned towards Freddricks with a sweep of his hand. "He's all yours, Cole. Just don't get violent. You do, you're out of here." He warned her.

Smirking at him, Cole quirked an eyebrow at him before her face turned stone cold again as she looked back at Freddricks, who did not lose his own smirk. She took a deep breath before walking over to the desk and folding her arms. "Hello, Freddricks." She said very coldly.

Freddricks snorted as he lift his head in a very sarcastic way and smirked right at her. "Hello, Colette Keller." He sneered when her eyes flashed. "Oh, I forgot. You hate that name, don't you?" He asked with dark amusement.

Narrowing her eyes at him, Cole shook her head before shifting her weight and easing a slow breath out. She wasn't going to let him get to her. She couldn't right now. "Let's get to the point, Richard Freddricks." She smirked coldly when the smug smile on the Department agent's face was gone, looking surprised. "What, you think you weren't the only one who snuck around in Hollander's personal files, looking at the others' names? Looks like you're not that smart, Richie." She allowed her smirk to grow when Freddricks growled at her. "Answer the damn questions and I won't call you by your little pet name that was used against you in high school, all right? Which facility is being used to experiment on the old Sector Seven projects that was created by the alien cube before it was taken and destroyed?"

There was a brief pause as Freddricks began his own glare at her before he snorted and shook his head. "What, you're not worried about those alien robots that Hollander's studying?" He asked sarcastically.

Again, Cole narrowed her eyes at him in a dead panned way. She wasn't let him get to her. She kept telling herself that, anyway. "No." She said in a dead way before flicking a finger over her shoulder to where the two Decepticons were watching the interrogation. "They sure do. You might recognize those ones by their red eyes. They're the ones called the Decepticons, the so called enemies of the blue eyed ones. You remember that big smoky black one that we caught with Big Red when we were after the kid, Rex Rory? Well, she happens to be here too. And I doubt that she'll be very happy to even see you. She wasn't happy to see me." She remarked.

Freddricks didn't retaliate but give her a dead look. He had that look that Cole recognized in his eyes. The whole calculating look that he got when he was trying to come up with an idea of how to get to her.

"Don't play games with me, Freddricks." Cole warned him dangerously. "And don't play games with the aliens. The two red eyed ones do not have a problem with hurting you to making you talk. I doubt the blue eyed ones will allow it, but if I might just talk them into it. And we all know how my negotiating skills are. I don't only bash people's faces in when they annoy the hell out of me and you know it. So start talking." She emphasized the last three words in warning.

Again there was a pause before Freddricks' eyes flashed with amusement and Cole realized he might have just figured out an idea of how to get under her skin. She gave him a warning look but he ignored it.

"It must be really eating you, isn't it?"

Narrowing her eyes again, Cole tilted her head to the side, letting her red waves spill down and over her folded arms. "What?" She nearly snapped out.

His smirk curling into a cruel smile, Freddricks shook his head as he looked her right into the eyes. He might as well get it over with. "It must be really getting to you to just be standing there, glaring at me, having to ask questions about the little alien robots for the benefit of the aliens when you could be asking me about your pretty boyfriend." He sneered.

Eyes flashing dangerously, Cole gritted her teeth before dropping her arms to her sides. She didn't want to go there. "One, Sean wasn't my boyfriend. So quit assuming that he was. He was my partner, just like the partner you had before you shot him for annoying you. Two, we're not going there. So..." She was saying.

"Oh, I think we are going to go there, Cole." Freddricks interrupted with a sneer. He ignored the dangerous look she gave him, shaking his head. "Why haven't you asked me where he is, yet?"

Her eyes flashing again, Cole frowned. She could almost detect something in his tone. There was something he was trying to say without really saying it. "Sean is dead, you asshole. You shot him and killed him in New York when you were chasing us." She said darkly, yet there was uncertainly in her tone.

Behind her, Will, Simmons and Keller glanced at each other, all showing the surprise in their eyes. They were starting to get the idea of where this was going. But it couldn't be helped that they wanted to know what Freddricks was talking about.

"Did I really shoot him and kill him, Cole?" Freddricks sneered, his grin growing bigger when he saw the alarm starting to grow in his former fellow Department Agent's eyes. He slowly nodded. "I did shoot him. In the shoulder, you dumb bitch. He's very much alive. Very hurt, but he's still breathing." He told her.

Cole's breath caught in her chest as her eyes grew wider as she let the information settling in. She felt as if she'd had all of the air sucked right out of her. Her mind flashing with Sean's image within. She couldn't believe this. It had to be a trick. "You're lying." She shot out, breathless.

Freddricks shook his head sneering at her. "I wish I was, bitch. Unfortunately, at the last second, when you ran off to save your selfish ass, Hollander called us and told us to take him alive. I wasn't happy about it, but I did extract my somewhat vengeance on him for annoying the shit out of me. I shot him in the shoulder and then we took him in."

"Where is he?" Cole immediately demanded, stepping forward and slapping her hands onto the desk so she could lean in towards him. "Where is Sean?"

"Cole," Keller started to say behind him.

Shooting him a look, Cole shook her head. "Shut up, Keller. I'll handle this." She warned before giving Freddricks a dark look. "Where did you take him, Freddricks? How bad is he hurt?" She demanded.

Freddricks sneered again but shook his head as he slowly leaned forward to meet her glare. "He's where you'll never reach him in time, bitch. Not before Hollander uses him in his upcoming experiment." He told her in a very dark way.

Her breath caught again as her eyes snapped wide open before Cole lashed out and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, yanking him forward, even though it was a little tough with his hands cuffed to the chair. He winced a little at the discomfort but kept the smirk on his face. "What the hell are you talking about? What experiment?" She demanded.

"Cole! Back off! He's goading you!" Will immediately stated as he hurried forward to get her to release the prisoner. He placed a hand onto her shoulder to calm her down but she wrenched free, still glaring at her former fellow agent. "Cole!"

"Shut up!" Cole shot over her shoulder at him but did not look away from Freddricks. "What experiment are you talking about?" She snapped at him.

Merely shrugging as best as he could, Freddricks looked as if it wasn't even a big deal. "Oh, you know. The usual stuff that Hollander likes to pull. Cutting bodies open and stuffing alien technology in them just to see if he could create cyborgs and see how the human body could even take it." He then squinted his eyes a little, rather thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it, I think he started on Sean...say...yesterday. He's probably dead, however. None of the other human/alien experiments ever really lasted very long. All well. Good riddance, I say."

Giving an outraged growl, Cole yanked harder on his collar, making him yelp in pain as his hands were jerked against the cuffs. She felt Will now wrapping an arm around her waist, trying to pull her back but she refused to let go. "Where is he, Freddricks? Where is Sean? Tell me!" She yelled into the Department agent's face.

"Cole! Let go!" Keller called as he hurried over to help Will pull her away.

Cole ignored them as she got right up into Freddricks' face, which was twisted in pain from his wrists. She refused to allow them to pull her free, even as they both grabbed at her hands and try to pull them off of the agent's clothes. "Tell me where Sean is, you son of a bitch? Where is Sean?" She screamed.

Will finally grabbed at her wrists and squeezed tightly so that her grip would loosen. He was only too glad when she was forced to let go. He took that opportunity to wrench her away from the desk and start dragging her across the room. He had to hold tight to her when she began thrashing against him to get away from him.

Freddricks, however, made matters worse as he sank back into the chair, relieving himself of the pain in his wrists. He just laughed harshly at her. "Not your boyfriend, huh?" He called over her out raged screams at Will. "You two were sure going at it before we broke it up in New York! I know because I'm the one who had the sniper rifle! Would have been an interesting show to see pretty boy take your clothes off! I always wanted to see what you looked like in the nude! Just a slut that you are!" He called.

Screaming in rage, Cole began fighting with Will to break loose. She was thrashing and trying hard to jerk away from him. She even elbowed him in the gut, knocking the air out of his lungs. That impact did make him let her go so he could wrap his arms around his stomach. He swore breathlessly when she lunged back across the room to get at Freddricks and even tried to scamper after her, even without air in his lungs.

However that was unnecessary when Keller quickly caught Cole around the shoulders and started to push her towards the door. It was his turn to start fighting with her to get her out of the room.

"Cole! Stop! Now!" The SecDef had to yell over her angry yells as he tried to keep a good grip on her.

"Get off of me! I'm going to kill him!" Cole yelled as she tried to push back against her father. She glared furiously at Freddricks, who had the nerve to just laugh harshly at her. "I'm going to kill you, Richard! I'm going to make you suffer as you die!"

Just then a large hand wrapped around her, taking her away from Keller and lifting her up and out of the interrogation room.

It was much relief to Keller as Optimus took Cole from him. He just breathed heavily, even while listening to Cole screaming threats to Freddricks. He knew there was going to be a back lash later for not letting her harm the Department agent any more than she already tried to. He knew that she was going to be extremely difficult later on.

But for now...

His face hardening, Keller turned slowly and looked at the laughing Freddricks, even while Will and Simmons shared his glare at the man who thought it was funny torturing Cole like that. They were not amused whatsoever with what he just pulled.

"I don't think you understand the situation you just put yourself into, Agent Richard Freddricks." Keller said in a very low voice, interrupting the agent's laugh.

"Hoo, really?" Freddricks sneered as he looked at the SecDef. "What are you going to do to me now, huh? Put me back in the Brigg and then ship me off to prison? Huh? Yeah right! It isn't going to work! nothing you will say or do will work, Keller!" He laughed harshly again.

Keller slowly shook his head before he stuffed his hands into his jacket pocket and lift his head. He had only one thought in his mind. He didn't like it and he knew that the Autobots weren't going to like it. But so far, Simmons' interrogation techniques hadn't worked. Cole's hadn't worked. All it did was piss her off and even hurt her deep within. He knew it was killing her to know that her partner, Sean was still alive and probably was being cut to pieces by some sick mad man who was threatening not only Cybertronian lives but human lives. He knew that there was information that Freddricks was withholding and they could not afford letting him even go to prison without that information.

So it was time to do something very drastic.

Giving Freddricks a dry stare, Keller shook his head before looking at Will and Simmons, motioning them out of the room. They frowned at him but slowly did what they were told. He followed after them but made sure to leave the door open so that Freddricks could hear what he was about to say next.

His aged blue eyes went straight to Starscream, lifting his head a little as he met those burning red eyes. "Starscream, may I ask how Decepticons interrogate their prisoners?" He asked.

Everyone in the room froze. Freddricks included. He no longer was laughing but looking at Keller's back with wide eyes. No one could believe what he was asking.

Starscream, however, slowly smirked as he looked down at the human before his burning eyes flicked over to the human within the interrogation room. He knew what the old human was asking him to do. It wasn't hard to figure out. "Painfully." He merely stated coldly, yet amused.

Keller gave a jerking nod. "Then he's all yours." He said very coolly before turning swiftly and started towards the door. He, however, paused when he heard the Autobots starting to murmur to each other. He looked up to see that Cole had stopped screaming in rage when she had heard what he had said. But he shook his head and looked up at Optimus, who looked quite taken aback by what he had just done.

"John, you cannot be serious..." Optimus was saying.

"Unfortunately, Optimus, I am very serious." Keller immediately stated, looking up at him before heaving a sigh. "I don't want to resort to this. But our ways are not working. And as it is, we're not finding much of a choice. We have a good man who is probably being used in some inhumane experiment by a mad man. And we have those babies of yours to find before they are killed. The only choice I'm going to make," He merely glanced at the smirking Starscream, who was eyeing the now terrified looking Freddricks. He knew that the Decepticon would have loved getting his claws dirty just to find some valuable information. Especially if it was about Sparklings in danger. "I'm making the choice of granting the Decepticons permission to taking over the interrogation. What I don't see happen doesn't happen. And if you don't want to see what they do to Agent Freddricks, then I suggest that we all leave the room then. Just until they're finished." He stated.

There was a very unsettling silence before Ironhide groaned before grabbing Hound's and Wheeljack's shoulders, who both looked alarmed about what was happening. Now, Wheeljack wasn't Prowl, but he did look like he was about to pull the same situation as the Autobot Second In Command usually did and glitch out. "Come on. I know, Hound, Wheeljack. I can't believe we're actually going to let the Cons do what they want to a human either. But I think at this point," He even gave a pointed look towards Optimus, who was looking pretty uneasy about this. "Keller's gotta point, Optimus. The human ain't talking to them. And I doubt that he'll talk to us. So I say, and I can't even believe I'm even saying this, let the Cons get 'em talking." He said now pulling the two alarmed Autobots out of the room.

Sighing heavily, Optimus dipped his head into a nod before looking over at Starscream, who met his gaze. "Starscream..." He was beginning to say.

"Oh, don't you worry, Prime." Starscream said with a slight sneer as he slowly took a step towards the interrogation room. "I won't kill him. I won't even touch him." He told him before jerking his head around and dropping heavily to one knee with a booming thud as he jerked his head right over the interrogation room, causing Freddricks to yelp in surprise and fear. "START TALKING NOW!" He snarled down at him.

"AGHHHH! What the hell?" Freddricks yelped before looking fearfully over at Keller. "Are...are you fu-fucking serious? You're actually letting one of the aliens try and intimidate me? It isn't going to work!"

Keller shook his head as he paused in the door way of the Interrogation room. "Unfortunately, you're not giving me a choice, Agent. So, yes. I am granting Starscream permission to do what is necessary to get you talking about where the Sparklings are being kept and Former Agent Sean. Like I said, if I didn't see it, it didn't happen. And this won't even go on the record." He said before waving a hand at Starscream to continue as he walked right out.

Freddricks looked fearfully up at the snarling Decepticon above him before cringing in his chair. "Yo-you won't hurt me! You're a..." He was saying with terror.

Smirking down at him in such an evil way, Starscream shook his head before holding up one of his claws and allowing one finger to start sparking up with electricity. "I'm not a fragging Autobot, human pest. I'm a Decepticon. And we will use pain to get you talking about the information. So if you don't want to feel extreme pain, I suggest you start saying something." He warned with dark amusement before starting to reach forward with a sparking claw.

Freddricks stared up at him in disbelief and fear, wondering if they were serious about this. He couldn't believe this at all. He couldn't believe that the Secretary of Defense of the United States of America was actually going to let an alien robot torture him for information. He didn't believe it for a few seconds. That is until that sparking claw came ever so closer that the hair on his face began to stand up and tingle in warning. He cringed away from it, eyes tightly closed and awaiting for the pain to come. "ALL RIGHT! I'LL FUCKING TALK!" He managed to yelp out, still waiting for the jolt of electricity to pass into him.

But after a few seconds when nothing happened, Freddricks opened one eye and saw that coy smirk on the Seeker's face as he pulled back his claw away from his face.

Nonetheless, at his outburst, everything seemed to have stopped within the room. Optimus had stopped from carrying Cole out of the room and turned back so that they both could look at him, while even Simmons and Will turned around and looked back at them. Jetfire was snickering from his dark corner, shaking his head. And even Keller popped his head back into the room, proving that he had just been waiting outside the room all along. All of them had been sure that once they had left the room or had been leaving the room, they would have heard that outburst of pain of what Starscream had been planning to do.

But it was the smug look on the Seeker's face that revealed it to all but the terrified out of his mind Freddricks. He didn't even seem to notice the look that Starscream wore. It only made everyone else realize that had only been trying to scare the human agent into talking. He hadn't planned on harming Freddricks at all.

"Th-the facil-facility that we're using is Lebanon, Kansas." Freddricks stammered, quivering in his chair as he gazed fearfully up at the giant robot before him. "The very he-heart of the United States."

Everyone looked at him in surprise but relieved that he finally cracked and gave them the information that they needed to save lives. Sean's and the Sparklings.

Optimus frowned as he took in the information before looking over at Starscream, who met his gaze. They both seemed to have shared a quick word with each other before the Seeker was nodding and glaring back down at the prisoner. "And that's where the Sparklings and the human designation, Sean is being kept?" He demanded. He barely caught sight of Cole's head jerking up and looking at him in surprise.

Shakily, Freddricks nodded as he stared up at the clearly very dangerous alien robot. He knew what the consequences were for revealing such valuable information like this. But it really couldn't be helped. This alien robot called Starscream was extremely intimidating. "Ye-yes. That is one of our main scientific research facilities and second base of operations. The bitch..." He was saying before flinching when both Cole and Starscream growled at him. They only glanced at one another when they heard each other doing it at the same time. "Cole! I meant Cole! Cole doesn't kn-know about it because she was-wasn't trusted by Hollander!"

"What? What do you mean I wasn't trusted by Hollander?" Cole demanded narrowing her eyes at him. "I was one of the best field agents! So why wouldn't he have trusted me?"

Freddricks shot her a look, clearly not afraid of her at all. He wasn't going to answer to her. He knew she was dangerous and vicious but right at the moment, she wasn't even able to march over and beat him bloody because she was being held by the large blue and red Autobot Commander.

However, a deep vicious growl much closer to him made Freddricks' head jerked and he cringed under the glare that the rusted Silver robot was giving him. It was actually quite surprising to everyone to see that Starscream was actually growling at a human for not answer another human. "Answer her question." He growled, surprising everyone even more. Skywarp was actually gaping at him, his optics at the widest setting and his mouth hanging open.

Gulping nervously, Freddricks nodded before looking at Cole, who was eyeing the Decepticon with surprise and suspicion. "You...you weren't trusted because you're the SecDef's daughter, Cole Keller. Whether you like him or hate him or not. Hollander didn't trust you with a lot of the Department secrets because of your relations with him. There are so many secrets that you don't even know." He stated nervously glancing up at the vicious Decepticon nearest to him.

Cole glared at him for a moment for even mentioning her name but then shook her head. She was not amused by his answer but it was an answer at least. She didn't like the idea of not knowing most of the secrets in the Department. "And so you do know them?" She asked coldly.

Freddricks shook his head. "No. No one knows all of the secrets. I just know more than you. I also know that soon enough, your big robot buddies aren't going to be happy with the news that'll be coming to them very soon." He remarked, gaining only the slightest smirk.

There was a moment's pause as the words settled in before Cole's eyes flashed as it hit her about what he was talking about. "The new weapons? They're finished?" She asked, not sounding happy.

Everyone frowned at her, curious about her meaning. They were all wondering what these new weapons were that she was talking about. And it was obvious that these weapons were going to be used against them. There was no one else that they could probably be used against.

"Weapon?" Jetfire was the one to ask.

Merely glancing at him, Cole shook her head before folding her arms and resting them right on Optimus' hand, seeing that he wasn't going to be putting her down any time soon. She knew that it was because he was trying to avoid her going berserker rage on Freddricks again. "They're powerful EMP based weapons that destroys anything electronic. The electric magnetic pulse will not just overload systems and such. It makes computers literately fry and burn, can even completely knock out the power lines, destroying the transformers and such. They're even mixed with scattershot sabot rounds, allowing the bullets to rip into some of the toughest metal. It will probably do more than knock you guys out. It'll probably literately rip into you guys and destroy you beyond all repair." She sighed heavily and looked away with a bitter look. "I know because I watched one of the tests once."

Starscream was the first and loudest to start growling as he glared down at her.

Glancing back at him, Cole shook her head. She was frowning, a little irritated that he was taking it out on her, in a way. "Believe me, it wasn't my idea. And even so, I didn't know what they were. If I would have realized what they were, I would have said something about it. So don't you get huffy with me, tincan with wings." She warned him.

Again, Starscream growled while the others looked on with wide eyes. The Autobots were sure that the Decepticon would at least try and smash her by now. But surprisingly, he made no such move.

"What the fuck are Sparklings, anyway?" Freddricks asked irritated at the very term that even Cole was using. He didn't understand, nor wasn't sure if he cared. But it was curiosity that was driving him to ask. He only ended up flinching a little when the vicious growl from Starscream was now being directed to him.

However, Cole surprised all by sharing Starscream's dark look at the Department agent as she folded her arms and shifted her weight impatiently. "They're robot babies, you moron. Hollander has been experimenting on these guys' babies." She growled at him.

Freddricks stared at her for a long moment as if she had suddenly grown two more heads before he made a disgusted sound. He looked highly disgusted by what she said. And only for a brief moment did everyone think that he was sharing Cole's very thoughts. Until he opened his mouth. "Are you kidding me? These things are breeding?" He groaned in disgust.

A lot of dark looks were thrown at him by Cybertronians and humans, alike. While, Starscream, however, snarled, making Freddricks flinch away from him again. They weren't pleased that he was saying it like it was some kind of manufactured disease to destroy the planet. Cole scoffed while rolling her eyes at Freddricks. "Yeah. So what? It's not like you care about kids as it is." She snapped at him.

Freddricks rolled his own eyes. "Hell, you got that right. I hate kids. They're so annoying, demanding and messy. I wouldn't be caught dead having kids of my own. They're nothing but trouble. Still, if these creatures are breeding and having offspring, looks like we got our work cut out for us. Hollander's gonna have to work harder to destroying..." He was saying.

Again, Starscream snarled, making Freddricks flinch and cower in his chair while he slammed his fist into the ground, causing the floor to shake violently. "Fragging finish that and not even Prime will be able to save you from me!" He growled into the human's face. "And we are Cybertronians! Not things or creatures! Get it through your fragging head and show some respect, you little insect!"

"Starscream." Optimus quickly spoke up, firmly yet not in reprimand. He understood why the Seeker was acting the way he was. It was all thanks to Dawn to even be able to understand what Sparklings or children even meant to someone like Starscream. He would have never guessed in a million years that the Decepticon Seeker did have a soft spot deep down within his Spark for such youth. Cybertronian or human. It didn't seem to matter to Starscream. It was enough to respect him for it. "Agent Freddricks," Optimus spoke sternly as he looked down at the human agent. "I would tread very carefully with what you say. I'm afraid if you continue on with aggravating Starscream, I won't be able to stop him in time. But I must caution you. You should at least appreciate what opportunities you have now. But you don't. You don't understand what chances you have now when you could lose them forever when it does come to be the time you will care." He shook his head, frowning. "As it is, the Sparklings are not really of our own. They are of the All Spark, the Cube that Sector Seven had studied for many years. And we will be finding the Sparklings and taking them back so that no more harm will befall upon them. What Miss Cole has told us, it is a travesty to what is being down to them. I'm afraid we cannot allow those acts to go against..." He was saying.

"Dude!" Freddricks interrupted loudly, making a disgusted but annoyed face up at Optimus. "Do you always talk like that, alien? You sound like some medieval freak from Romeo and Juliet! Like the Americans say about immigrants who don't fucking speak English while on OUR land, speak English and talk like a normal person! Not that you are even a person." He added a little quieter.

Optimus, the Autobots, the humans and even the Decepticons gave Freddricks quite the dark look for his remark. They sure didn't appreciate the racial jab he had shot at Optimus. But nonetheless, Keller seemed to be fed up with it. He waved a hand at Will towards the Department Agent. "Enough. We have some of the information we need for now. Commanding Major Lennox, put him back in the Brigg cell." He ordered.

Will nodded and saluted him sharply before he did what he was told.

Once Freddricks was taken out of the interrogation room, Optimus finally set Cole down on the ground, yet very carefully. He was very relieved when she didn't attempt to follow after Will to get at Freddricks.

However, Keller was not. He looked torn between being very stern with her behavior or being soft about her feelings. "Cole, we will find your companion. We will do everything to locate him, rescue him and save him for you. I know it must be very hard for you but you cannot do that again. That was completely unnecessary..." He was saying.

Giving him a dry look, Cole shook her head as she turned away from him. "Don't tell me what to do, Keller. You're not my father anymore. You have to earn that right again. Not that you can ever." She said coldly before she started to walk away. But she stopped again when she thought of something and turned back. "That was really risky what you did back there. Allowing the Decepticon to scare the hell out of Freddricks like that. You knew that he would do that, didn't you?" She required to know.

Starscream only glowered at her, a deep growl deep within his vocal processor. "I would have done more than scare the lubricants out of him." He growled, mostly to himself.

Keller, however, smiled tightly and shook his head as he and everyone ignored the Decepticon Seeker. "Actually I didn't know that Starscream's only intent was to scare Freddricks into talking." His words surprised all, the Decepticon Seekers, especially. "I actually was being very serious about letting Starscream interrogate Freddricks." He admitted again.

Her mouth slightly open, Cole stared hard at him. She didn't understand him. She knew what would have happened if Keller would have actually let one of the robots harm a human and the higher ups would have found out about it. "Why? You could have lost your job if anyone finds out." She stated.

Again, Keller shook his head, smiling tightly. "It is amazing what a father would do for his daughter when one hurts them. I was and am willing to taking the risk of allowing Starscream to do what it was necessary to get Freddricks to talk about the location of the Sparklings and your boyfriend." He told her.

Giving him a look of disgust, Cole shook her head as she dropped her arms to her side. "He isn't my boyfriend." She said coolly. "He might care about me as a lover would, but I don't share the same feelings as he does, did. I don't love him. I like him as a partner or a friend. But he is not my lover."

And with that, she started to storm out. But again, she paused to look back up at Starscream, who was watching her in return. She bit her lip for a second, something that even Keller recognized as her thinking very hard about something before she shrugged. "Thank you...for asking about Sean, though. I know you couldn't give a rat's ass about him but about the babies. But still, thank you." She said surprising everyone; most the Autobots, humans and Skywarp.

And even more surprising, Starscream gave her a jerking nod of acceptance for her gratitude.

With that said and done, Cole turned and walked out.

There was a slight pause as everyone watched her leave before all eyes went to Starscream. It took him a moment to realize that everyone was looking at him. He looked back before frowning and giving them a dark 'What-are-you-looking-at?' look. But instead of verbally asking it, he turned his burning gaze onto Optimus, who was rather thoughtful about what just happened. "So when do we, as you always annoyingly put it, roll out to retrieve the Sparklings?" He growled.

Optimus made a face at him for his remark about his traditional quote before shaking his head and sighing. "Unfortunately, not soon enough. We have only an idea of where the facility is located. But we are not certain that Agent Freddricks is telling the truth. We need to survey the area first just to be sure that is where the Sparklings and former Agent Sean is being kept." He turned away to leave, himself. "I will have Hound, Wheeljack and the human ITs do an observation sweep with Teletraan over Lebanon, Kansas first before we begin the preparations for a rescue mission." He stated.

Huffing, Starscream wasn't happy about that but he knew it was a smart decision on the Prime's part. It was better to look before leaping into whatever disaster that might have been waiting. So he would keep his patience as much as possible for now.

"Hey, Screamer." Jetfire called over to his fellow Seeker, earning quite the dark look for the stupid nickname that Skywarp, himself had come up with back on Cybertron. The purple Seeker, cringed a little when Starscream gave him an acid like look, knowing that it was his fault that Jetfire was calling him that.

"What do you want, Jetfire? And quit calling me that!" Starscream snarled.

Jetfire only chuckled before shrugging off Starscream's irritation pointed at him. "So, why'd you really help out that femme by asking about her friend? Knowing you, you don't do anything that benefits yourself. But I really don't see how it's gonna benefit you by asking about a human. So why'd you help her?" He asked with sly amusement.

There was a pause before Starscream snarled and stormed towards the door. "I didn't help her out! I don't fragging care about humans, you old mech! Besides, Optimus Prime asked me to ask about the human! Now, shut up!" He snapped in his own defense before he was out the door with Skywarp scurrying after him.

Jetfire just chuckled as he reached up and stroked his metal faceguard with a very interested but thoughtful look. "Interesting. I think things just got very interesting around here." He remarked to himself before leaving.

Simmons, however, was left forgotten in the room, still weirded out by everything that had just happened. The only thing he could do was shake his head and mutter along the lines of "stupid robots and humans and their friggen hormones..."


	26. Of Wedding Plans, Revelations, and Media Spies

Even though things were a little tense around the Autobot/Human base because of the Decepticons, there was one thing that lift it right up right away. Something that made a mother of a precious daughter go...

"OH MY GAWD!" Squealed Eliza once the news hit her. Her eyes were bright as she gazed at her smiling daughter as she looked at her. She just couldn't help but let out another squeal of happiness as she clapped her hands and hopped up and down. "Dawnie! I can't believe it! He finally asked you!" She cried brightly before rushing forward and gathered Dawn up into her arms in a tight hug.

Laughing, Dawn returned the hug, not helping it. She had finally told her family that Sideswipe had asked her to marry him. Not that it would have made a difference. Not with Sunstreaker teasing her and his twin brother with playing the wedding ballade as he walked the halls of the base. Because of him, Ironhide and even Jazz, everyone found out about the engagement. The moment that all three of them had started cheering, everyone immediately rushed the two and immediately congratulated them.

Of course, Dawn had begged everyone not to tell her family yet. She wanted to be the one to do it.

And now that it was done, both her mother and stepfather were engulfing her in tight hugs and kissing her blushing cheeks. Even while everyone was laughing.

"Oh!" Eliza gasped before pulling away from Dawn and rushing to Sides' holoform. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, even while he looked sheepish. "I am so happy, Sides! I am looking forward for you to officially be a part of our family!"

Sides laughed little as he returned the hug. "Thanks, Eliza. I'm glad to hear that. I was kind of...worried about you not accepting..." he was saying in hesitation.

"Worried? About me not accepting you and Dawn?" Eliza asked with a smile as she pulled away. She shook her head as she lightly touched his cheek. "Sweetheart, I already said this once. But I already think of you as a son-in-law. You are more than welcome being a part of our family." She told him. "And call me mom. I pretty much am now."

Chuckling, Sides nodded as he pulled away so he could shake Nik's hand. "Okay, mom. Will do." He promised.

Standing by with excitement, Judy finally couldn't help but hurry forward and hug Dawn next. "So, Dawn, when do you think you want the wedding?" She asked brightly. "Can I help with the arrangements, Eliza?" She asked excitedly.

"Of course, Judy! I could use all the help I can get!" Eliza said brightly.

Dawn, however, squeaked at the very thought of the wedding. She never put any thought about the ceremony or anything. "Uh...I...I..." she stammered.

"Ooooh! Dawn! How soon do you want to have the wedding? Next Spring would sound lovely!" Judy recommended.

"Yes! That would be great!" Eliza said brightly.

Dawn flushed bright red while Sides rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. They didn't really know what to say about it. "Uh...well...we were kind of hoping...to have its sooner than that, mom. Say like in a month or two." Dawn said uneasily.

Both Eliza and Judy gaped at her. "A month or two? That soon? Isn't that rushing it?" Her mother asked biting her lip.

Dawn and Sides grimaced as they looked at each other before shrugging at the same time. "Well," It was the Autobot to say as he wrapped an arm around the love of his life. "Not exactly. It's a Cybertronian thing. Usually when a mech takes a mate, they put their whole Spark into making the commitment. The decision that they make, the Spark usually has three days up to a week in Earth time to make the link between him and the femme. Now I know that Dawn doesn't have a Spark to connect like that, but when a Spark recognizes the decision to fall for that femme, it sticks to it.

"As it is, we're pushing it longer than the Spark can handle as it is. I don't know much about spark mates and all but I have read once that if we wait any longer, my Spark can get strained." He explained.

Dawn nodded with a smile. "I did ask Elita One once about it and she did say that she made her mind up about Optimus long before he even asked her to be his. She told me that the longer the Spark has to wait for its mate, it can be...energy straining and a little painful. I don't want to put Sides through that, making him wait until next spring. That is like six months from now. If waiting one or two months is bad enough, I couldn't even imagine what would happen if he had to wait half a year." She told her mother and friend. "So...we want to have it as soon as possible."

"And give you time to plan the wedding." Sides added.

"Which, we are definitely leaving it up to you, mom and Judy. You two have been dying to do this for awhile now." Dawn pitched in.

Sides nodded as he smiled warmly. "And I know the femmes would love to help. Elita One, the Arcee sisters and Flare-Up would want to pitch in too." He added again.

For a moment, there was a pause as Eliza and Judy stared at the pair before both of them squealed in excitement and clutched onto each other's arms.

"Oh my god! They're already finishing each other's sentences! They are definitely soul mates!" Judy cried happily.

Dawn and Sides stared at the pair of squealing women with wide eyes. While everyone else burst into booming laughter. While the young couple couldn't figure out what was so funny or special about that, everyone else did.

"See! I told you that he was perfect for her! I knew that they were soul mates!" Eliza beamed at her friend. She then turned to her daughter and nodded brightly. "Okay! In month's time then! If not in two weeks! We'll have everything ready for you! The flowers, the dress, the tux! Oh, wait. Not the tux. Sides, you can marry Dawn in your real form. Not your holoform. We will definitely have the invitations out immediately! Of course there isn't going to be a whole lot. All of the invited are already here." Eliza said thoughtfully.

"Huh?" It was a curious Ron who asked. "What about your family? Wouldn't your parents like to be here for their granddaughter?"

Both Eliza and Dawn smiled gently as they shared a glance before shaking their heads. "It's just us. My parents passed a long time ago when Dawn was little. It was due to the fact that they couldn't take the thought of ,e raising her by myself when my ex-husband left us." The older of the two stated. Then her eyes widened at the thought. "Oh! Dawn, that's right! Who would be giving you away? Certainly not your father, where ever he is." She added that last bit with resentment, glaring away from everyone.

Dawn shared the same look with a sharp nod. "Yeah, well, even if we did know where he was, he wouldn't be invited. Not after what he pulled." She then lightened at the thought before looking over when she heard the familiar thinks of Cybertronian feet entering. She looked up at Optimus as he and Elita One entered with Ratchet, Starscream, Groundhog, and Skywarp.

Biting her lip, Dawn untangled herself from Sides and stepped closer to the Autobot Leader. "Optimus, Ratchet," she stated softly catching their attention. "Um...as you already know, Sides and I want to get married in human terms. But I would also like to make it completely official to human and Cybertronian ways. As Prime, would you be willing to conduct the wedding?" She asked.

Optimus smiled down at her before slowly and carefully bending down to one knee so he could have a better look at her. "Dawn, it would be the greatest honor that you would allow me to take such part in your connection ceremony with Sideswipe." He told her gently.

Dawn smiled brightly before letting her eyes flicker over to Ratchet. "Ratchet, I need someone to give me away to Sides at the ceremony. You have saved my life at least twice with Chris' planned kidnap and the crash and then again when I was poisoned by Energon." She took a deep breath before smiling sweetly. "You and Optimus are like the fathers I always dreamed of having. Would you be willing to give me away at the wedding ceremony?" She asked somewhat nervously.

Somewhat surprised for a moment, Ratchet finally smiled softly before following Optimus' example by lowering himself to one knee and gently cupping his hand around her as if embracing her. "Dawn, as Optimus had said, it would be the greatest honor you could ever give me." He told her softly.

Her heart racing with happiness, Dawn smiled excitedly before throwing her arms around Ratchet's hand and hugging it tightly. "Thank you so much! And I know the perfect Bridesmaids! And would you mind being my Maid of Honor, Elita?" She asked excitedly.

Elita One laughed softly before nodding. "I would be honored, Dawn." She told her softly. "And I know the Autobot femmes would love to be your bridesmaids."

Eliza and Nik smiled as they nodded their approval to Dawn's choice. They were happy no matter what she chose. Even if it was Ratchet who would be giving her away.

"Who is going to be the flower girl and the ring bearer?" Ron asked.

Both Dawn and Sides looked at each other, grinned as they thought of the same answer. "Delia and Annabelle will be the flower girls." She said.

"And I'm thinking maybe Blaster as the ring bearer." Sides added as he looked over at Mirage and Blaster as they stood off to the side watching and listening. "If it's all right with you guys." He added.

Mirage smiled before looking at Blaster, who was starting to bounce on his shoulder with excitement. The Camo Specialist grinned before looking back at Sides. "I think that's a big yes." He stated.

Everyone laughed as they watched the little Autobot. It was amusing to even watch.

"Disgusting."

The laughs stopped and everyone looked towards the door to see Nemesis Strika glaring around at everyone but mostly at Dawn and Sides. Ultra Magnus was behind her, glaring at her back. He obviously had taken over watching her while Elita took a break from her. But it was obvious what she was growling about. And it just made a few glare at her, daring her to say something.

"You got a problem?" Ironhide growled with warning.

Nemesis Strika glared back at him before nodding with a jerk. "Yes, I have a problem! I'm stuck here! With fragging Autobots and traitors! And insects! Ad even worse! One of those fragging Autobots is taking an insect as a mate! This is the most disgusting display I have seen!" She growled.

Everyone glared harder at her, not amused. Not even the other Decepticons were amused by her antics.

"Ain't your business, Nemesis Strika." Jetfire growled from the corner where he stood over Anya and Vladimir, protectively. "So shut it! If Sideswipe wants a human as his mate, he can take her!"

Nemesis Strika just sneered in disgust. "It is so disgusting how you lot, support this...abomination! Cybertronians cannot take humans as mates! It's so disgusting to even think about taking an organic as a mate! Especially such an ugly one at that." She snapped.

Dawn flinched at the nasty insult the Decepticon Femme threw at her while Sides and Sunny both glared at her, growling before the first twin vanished and his real form unfolded. He wasted no time to get to his wheels and lash out his arms, releasing his blades. He was so ready to use them on the Decepticon femme.

"Sideswipe! Stand down!" Optimus immediately ordered, even as nearly every one of the Cybertronians whirled out their weapons and trained them on each fraction.

But it turned out to be a surprise when everyone saw who was pointing their cannons where. While the Autobots had trained theirs on the Decepticons and vice versa, there was only the exception of one. Everyone looked surprised to see Starscream had pointed his at Nemesis Strika, glaring at her and ignoring the weapons aimed at him. It only took a moment for Groundhog and Skywarp to switch their targets when they realized that.

"Everyone, calm down." Optimus stated as calmly as he could, trying to defuse the situation. He knew if a fire fight broke out now, the humans would get caught up in it and someone was bound to get hurt or killed. He looked at Starscream, almost asking him to put away his weapons.

Starscream almost ignored him before he raised his null ray and motioned for the other two to do the same. Groundhog immediately obeyed while Skywarp was hesitant but he listened anyway.

"Autobots, disengage." Optimus ordered softly.

Slowly, one by one, everyone did as they were told. Even though Sides and Sunny were the last. They wanted nothing more than to rip into Nemesis Strika. But it was a gentle hand of Dawn to calm both of them down. They reinserted their weapons but did nothing for their glares. They wouldn't give that one up.

Nemesis Strika hadn't missed Starscream's threat against her ad wasn't surprised. She was used to being threatened by him.

But what she wasn't came a second later.

"Skywarp, I want you to take Nemesis Strika back as close as you can to the Nemesis. And then get away as fast as you can. If she hates it here so much, then she can go back." Starscream said coldly. "If we're lucky, the Miniscum will deactivate her."

Everyone stared at him in shock, Nemesis Strika being the most stunned. "What? You're releasing me? Since when do you let prisoners go...?" She demanded though pleased.

"One," Starscream growled at her. "You weren't a fragging prisoner, moron! Two, I am tired of your glitching! I am not going to baby sit you and make sure you stay in line all of the time!"

"I am not a Sparkling...!" Nemesis Strika was snarling

Starscream snarled right back at her, his brilliant red optics flashing dangerously. "Well then don't act like one! Ever since we arrived, you have been moping around, throwing a pity party! And for what? Because the Autobots had the nerve to assist us when Galvatron and the Minicons tried to kill us! That fragging includes you, Nemesis Strika! Your mate, Obsidian isn't the same mech we knew! He was always a cold pitspawn, but not like that! And he didn't even acknowledge you as his mate! He tried to kill you and he didn't care! Quit deluding yourself! You go back to them, it will be more than likely they will deactivate you and reprogram you into a processor-less Minicon! You won't be nothing but a puppetbot for Unicron, idiot! But if you really want that, then go! And the next time I see you, it will be on the battlefield and I will deactivate you!" He snapped angrily. "But if you stay, you will stop insulting the humans! I don't like them any more than you do but right at the moment, we don't have a choice but to survive! And the only of doing that is the Autobots! And if one of the Autobots wants to mate with a human, who are you to contradict that? So shut the frag up and leave or shut the frag up and stay! Because like it or not, we're stuck here! Galvatron will not let you live because you did come here with us! Forced or not!" He snapped.

For a long moment, there was only stunned silence. No one could think of a single thing to say about this. Not even Nemesis Strika. She couldn't even think of a snappy comeback to throw at Starscream.

And what it worse was the words did settle in.

The look in Nemesis Strika's optics was haunting to some who noticed it. There was a deep, sad look as she looked away from all before simply turning away. "Fine." She managed to growl. "I'll shut up from now on." And she was out the hangar door, probably to find some corner to sulk in. Everyone watched her go before looking around at each other.

"Uh...that was somewhat unsettling." It was Hound to break the silence.

"No kidding." Ironhide grunted.

Optimus looked at Starscream, who was folding his null ray back into his arm and not looking worried. "So I suppose she will be staying then?" He asked calmly.

Starscream didn't even look up but nodded sharply. He took a moment to think and then met the Prime's optics. "Honestly, Prime. Where do you think she'll go? I only spoke the truth. If she leaves, she will be hunted down by my Decepticons and the Minicons for betrayal. She is too dangerous and naive to be left alone. If she knows what's good for her, she will stay and keep her vocal processor silent." He said sharply.

Elita One sighed, shaking her head as she thought about it. "What makes it worse, she realizes that you were right about Obsidian. I don't know him well but he was always a harsh one. I could only wonder why they were connected in the first place. I remember her when she was just Strika, before the war. She was never that hateful before. Not since she joined the Decepticons and spark mated with Obsidian." She stated.

Snorting, Starscream shook his head. "All I know about her past was she was full of foolish dreams. She was considered weak as Strika. I couldn't care less anyway. She never was worth my time on Cybertron or here." He growled.

A few of the Autobots gave the Seeker a reproachful look for his words but didn't argue. They didn't know enough about the Decepticon femme to even say anything.

"Prime!"

Every head turned sharply when they heard the voice of one they so much despised to even hear. The Autobots, at least. Ironhide proved it by growling fiercely and his cannons starting to whirl into place. The twins even joined in while everyone groaned.

The Autobot-Human Liaison, Theodore Galloway was storming in with a rather wrinkled and crushed newspaper in his hand. His face was beet red and his eyes wild, so he was obviously pissed about something. Now what was the question.

"Liaison Galloway, what a pleasant surprise." Optimus said, though everyone knew he was lying. He didn't like this particular human any more than the others did, human ad Autobots.

"Save it, Prime!" Galloway snapped as he stormed right up to the group, ignoring the growls from all of the Autobots and even some of the soldiers. "What is the meaning of this? Why have you not sad a word about this?" He demanded.

Everyone frowned in confusion, Optimus especially. "I'm afraid I do not understand, Liaison. What have I not said a word about?" He asked with a frown.

Galloway fumbled with the newspaper, rather violently that it torn a little. He swore loudly but held it up, showing the front page. What was on it had many eyes light up with surprise.

Front page: Friend or Foe? Autobots and Decepticons Conspiracy!

Hurrying over to Galloway, Will snatched the paper from the peeved Galloway with nearly all of the humans hurrying over to read over his shoulder but he backed away to escape being mobbed.

"This, Prime! This is what you failed to explain!" Galloway ranted. "What does this mean? What does it mean that you're harboring International terrorists, the Decepticons?"

Optimus jerked back a little, surprised by what he said. He didn't understand how Galloway didn't know about the Decepticons yet. More or less, why it was in the news. Instead he looked down at Will, who hissed a little as he swiftly read the newspaper. "Will?" He asked carefully.

Will didn't look up at him but continued to scan the article. "He's right, Optimus. It's in here. Somehow, a reporter got an inside scoop about the Cons. He is saying that they're here in the base and we're helping them and all." He cursed even louder as he quickly began turning pages and found another article. "And here's a story by the same guy about Dawn and Sideswipe! How the hell did he get this information? How did he find out about their engagement?"

"And how can you allow this to happen? To let Decepticons in the base when they have killed numbers of American lives? Wait...! What? What do you mean there are Decepticons here? Why haven't I seen them?" Galloway demanded, his face getting dangerously red.

There was a dead pause as everyone looked at him, some with weird looks, and some with raised eyebrows while others merely glanced over at the very ones being talked about.

"Hmph! Maybe you should try looking over your shoulder, human bug." Starscream growled, with only a hint of dark amusement in his tone.

Galloway's body went completely rigid and his eyes snapped wide open. He looked petrified that very second when he heard Starscream. He took a moment to slowly turn around and looked up to see two smirking Seekers and one sighing Decepticon medic shaking his head as he planted his face into his palms.

Making quite the imitation of a fish, Galloway gaped at the Decepticons with shock and horror.

Sighing heavily, it was Keller who stepped forward, massaging the bridge of his nose. "I am afraid it's my fault, Optimus." He said wearily, catching everyone's but the shocked Liaison's attention. He gave everyone an apologetic look as he moved closer to Galloway. "With everything happening so fast with the involvement of the Department, and Cole and the Decepticons, I completely forgot to inform the President of the new situation. I better go clear this up right now." He clapped a hand onto the Liaison's shoulder and steered him towards the door. "Come on, Galloway. I think you should be there to hear the story for yourself."

And the two were out of the hangar, leaving everyone to discuss the new problem.

"Will," Dawn said hesitantly as she pulled away from her mother and wandered closer to the Soldier. She had a look of pure worry on her face at whatever was going through her mind. "What does it say about me and Sides?"

Will frowned at her, somewhat in sympathy before looking back at the newspaper. "Well...it doesn't mention your full name. Just your first. And the reporter didn't even have a clue what Sides' name was. But it says here that he got it from a reliable source that you two were dating. He makes it sound really weird and even has put some inquiring jokes in his story." He said glumly.

Everyone frowned and even some were starting to growl at the thought of it.

"What kind of jokes?" It was Ratchet who growled it out.

Will sighed as he shook his head. "One of them is how Dawn must have really had trouble finding a relationship with another human being and decided to go for an alien robot instead." He said giving Dawn a sympathetic look.

Surprisingly, Dawn didn't look upset about it. She actually put a dead look on her face and shook her head, even as her Autobot Guardian and fiancée started growling his engine in fury. "Of course I did." She said blankly, surprising everyone. She shook her head, placing her hands on her waist. "I couldn't any human guy who had the balls enough to be nice to me, protect me, and even had the decency to even become my best friend and be there for me when I needed a friend. Instead, it was the most amazing mech in the universe who did that. And I am not ashamed of him for it." She said with determination.

Sides grinned before rolling forward and picking Dawn up carefully to hold her close to him. "And I am not ashamed of being with the most amazing human in the universe either. Let the slagger talk all he wants. I am not changing my processor or my Spark about you, Sunrise. I love ya too much."

"Awwww!" Eliza and Judy coooed loudly while there were many clicks as everyone took a snap shot of the two.

"Hmph. Amazing." Starscream grunted, making several glance over at him. He had been watching and listening, obviously. But it surprised many to see that he was smirking instead of looking disgusted.

"You got a problem, Seeker?" Sunstreaker growled glaring at him in warning.

Giving the sunny yellow Autobot warrior a look, Starscream merely shook his head. "Nope. It is just amusing, that's all. Besides," he added with a growl. "It is no one else's business who our kind takes as a mate. Never was on our planet and I don't see why here is any different." He ended it with another growl before turning away and walking out with a Skywarp shrugging at the Autobots and following his Air Commander and Leader.

Everyone just stared flabbergasted. They would have never guessed those words would come out of Starscream of all mechs.

"Dude, I think I am about to glitch out. Did Starscream basically say he doesn't care about Sides' choosing of Dawn as a mate?" Hound asked stunned.

"Never mind that." Ratchet growled before looking around at Optimus. "We have a problem, Optimus. How did a news reporter find out about the Decepticons when no one was suppose to know about it? Obviously, we have a breech in security. Someone is talking or somehow the reporter managed to sneak in without our knowledge." He stated.

Optimus nodded as he took in the thought carefully. "Meaning we have a media spy here or our security is lacking. Ratchet, Red Alert should be out patrolling the canyon like Secretary Keller asked him to. Radio him in and tell him to start upgrading the security."

Several groaned at the thought while Groundhog frowned in confusion. "Is Red Alert not efficient in doing such? I thought his specialty was in security." He said in confusion.

Ironhide snorted loudly..and folded his large arms. "Oh he is. Believe me and he is good. Problem is, the mech is as skittish as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Meaning," he stated when every human looked confused. "He is about to drive us nuts with his overwhelming sense of paranoia. Get ready for some really crazy ideas for security, mechs and people. The base is about to become a mad house. And I feel bad for whoever let the reporter know classified information if Red catches them. He takes all kinds of security problems way too serious."

The so called spy listened and couldn't help but gulp. He had a bad feeling about this now.


	27. Understanding

It took a moment to find her but he managed just fine. He didn't understand why he went looking for her in the first place. They didn't get along. They had so much hate between them as it was. But after seeing that look on her face, he felt a twinge of concern for the first time in eons. And for her, of all Cybertronians.

That wasn't normal for Ultra Magnus.

The Autobot Commander found the Decepticon femme in a dark hangar, moping as always. She was sitting in a corner, staring at a wall, her optics dimmed as if she was saddened by something. He could tell that she was. He knew she was hurting pretty bad. And he did have a feeling he knew what it was about.

Sensing his presence, Nemesis Strika jerked her head up and glared at the intruder. Her glare only intensified when she saw who it was. "What do you want? Come to rub it in my face of what just happened?" She demanded.

Ultra Magnus snorted as he folded his brawny arms and leaned against the door frame. He could have done just that right then. Rubbing her misery in her face. But then again he wasn't really like that. It went against the Autobot protocols as it was. So he only surprised himself but shaking his head. "No, actually. I am actually just checking up on you. I saw that look after what Starscream said to you." He told her.

Nemesis Strika sneered, though here was a hint of pain in her optics. "I don't need your fragging sympathy, Autobot! Mind your own damn business!" She snapped.

"It hurts, doesn't it? Having Starscream point out the truth like that. About Obsidian." Ultra Magnus stated, though carefully. He watched her carefully for her reaction.

And as he thought, Nemesis Strika flinched as if she had been struck hard before she lowered her head and didn't reply. She actually looked solemn about it. The sad look was back. A light whine of her engine told the Autobot Commander how much that had hurt her.

Sighing, Ultra Magnus pushed himself off the wall and walked over to her. He knew he shouldn't have gone there. Even if she was a Decepticon femme. He dug into his inner compartment before holding out the Energon Cube he had taken a moment to gather on his way to finding this femme. He huffed in amusement when she looked up at him in surprised. "It's Grade A. Figured you could use a strong drink." He told her.

Staring up at him in surprise, Nemesis Strika didn't move to take it for a long moment before just going ahead. "Er...thanks, I guess." She grunted. She didn't want to be grateful to him, of all mechs. But deep down, she was. She really had needed a strong drink.

Ultra Magnus nodded before stepping back. He studied her as she slowly consumed the Energon slowly. "M' sorry." He said after a minute of silence. And when she frowned up at him in surprise but suspicion, he shook his head. "About Obsidian. I know it must be hard..."

"Don't." Nemesis Strika growled up at him, glaring again.

"...For what happened to him." Ultra Magnus continued without a beat and as if he didn't hear her. "He was a good mech before all of this slag happened. Cold tempered and arrogant, but he was a good mech. He was a good opponent to fight too. I did enjoy fighting him now and then."

Nemesis Strika looked surprised before frowning and looking away. She didn't know what to even say about that. She couldn't figure out what to say.

Clearing his voice processor, Ultra Magnus finally turned away. He could tell he wasn't wanted right now, if ever. "Well, I will leave you alone now." He remarked and started to leave. He only made it half way before she stopped him.

"He was never my star intended spark mate."

Stopping, Ultra Magnus turned around and looked at her with confusion. He had barely heard what she said because she whispered it. But he did manage to catch it. His optics lit up as he recalled what she did say. "What?" He asked.

Nemesis Strika merely glanced over at him before looking away in shame. She was actually embarrassed to admit one of her darkest secrets. Especially to someone like Ultra Magnus. "I said he was never really my star intended spark mate. He never loved me. And I never loved him. Our mating, it was actually arranged by Megatron." She told him quietly. She shook her head at his inquired look. "It wasn't of our own choosing. We didn't choose to be mates. It was because there were not many femmes in the Decepticon army. I was only one of the few among them. Because Megatron couldn't have the All Spark soon enough, he came up with the idea that what femmes there were should be mated with strong Decepticons. I was chosen to be with Obsidian." She sneered in disgust at the distant memory. "At the time, I was hesitant about having been chosen to be with him. Though, in a way, honored. I was believed to be strong and powerful because of my size. I am the biggest Decepticon femme, after all. But when it was later revealed that I couldn't spark a Sparkling, Obsidian mostly ignored me. He was actually embarrassed by me. That was why he talked Megatron into making me a Commander of the femmes. The General, in fact. I didn't earn that title on my own." She made a dark face as she looked away. "Actually, it wasn't just me that couldn't spark Sparklings. Most of the femmes couldn't."

Ultra Magnus frowned before turning and wandering back to where the femme was sitting. "How did...Megatron take it that you couldn't spark?" He asked carefully.

Bitterly smiling, Nemesis Strika shook her head keeping her gaze away from him. "He never knew. Obsidian refused to tell him. He only came up with a slag of a lie about how dangerous it would be for me to spark at the time. We were in a war, after all." She said darkly, glaring at the wall. "Even after time with him, I did grow to feel for him, he didn't feel for me. So I am not really surprised he turned on me when he came back."

For a long moment, there was only silence between the two enemies. It was almost peaceful for a change.

But after a moment, Ultra Magnus shook his head before reaching over and patting her shoulder, earning a frown from her. He ignored it though. "You're not weak, Nemesis Strika. You have given me quite the run for my Energon before. Perhaps you could be stronger if you don't hold yourself back. If Obsidian cannot see that you are stronger than you or he thinks, he is a fool. And I won't tell anyone. This is just between me and you." He told her before turning away. "Anyway, my kid should be back soon from his first day at school. And I want to greet him. So I'll leave you alone. When you're ready to quit moping around, come say hi to the kid who stood up for you when we fought in Louisiana." And with that, he left her in the hangar.

What he didn't realize was as he walked away, Nemesis Strika watched him go in silence. But as he walked out, her optics lightened with a new mood and she smiled faintly. Something she had not done in a very long time. Even before she joined the Decepticons.

Things were not exactly how he thought they would be. They were definitely different and very unfamiliar, something he wasn't used to. It wasn't pleasant but he knew life had a habit to throw him into loops.

Starscream would have never imagined in his life he would find himself in this position. He would have never asked for help from the Autobots. But it wasn't like he had a choice right at the moment. Galvatron and the Minicons didn't give him that choice. Nor the Decepticons that sided with him. What did surprise him the most was Soundwave of all mechs and Decepticons had actually stood up for him. And against his former Master, nonetheless. There hadn't been much of a relationship between them other than dislike and resentment. They hadn't really gotten along very well in the past. There had been times where they nearly came to blows over stupid reasons. Especially with who would have been the better leader when Megatron had been killed by the human, Sam Witwicky. They had really butted heads then.

But it seemed that Soundwave had come to term with him about who was leading the Decepticons. Otherwise, he would have not stood up for him. That was at least a relief to know that one of the toughest Decepticons in existence had his wings.

The sound of feet hitting the ground broke his chain of thoughts, forcing him to look up from the ground. He narrowed his eyes when he saw that human femme again. She was jogging around outside, wearing black sweats and a black tank top. Her bright red hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, though it was still bouncing on her shoulder blades. She still wore quite the sour look on her face from earlier and it didn't take Starscream long to figure out that she was trying to jog off her anger for what that pathetic human bug said to her.

Frowning deeply, Starscream wandered outside the main hangar to watch her a little longer. He couldn't help but wonder about her. There was something about her that he could not put his servo on. He wasn't sure what was so fascinating about her. Not that he would admit that she was interesting to anyone.

To the pits about that. He would never hear the end of it from Skywarp, Groundhog and certainly not from Barricade. They would probably drive him nuts with his strange facination with the human.

"What are you staring at?" Came that demanding voice.

Starscream blinked his optics, realizing he had gotten lost into his thoughts again that he hadn't realized that the woman had stopped in front of him and was now currently glaring up at him.

Hands on her hips, Cole had noticed the Decepticon when he first came out. She had tried to ignore him, pretending she didn't see him. She didn't want a distraction right now. She wanted to focus on her jogging right now. It was something she always did when she was extremely pissed off like she was.

But with the giant robot's constant stares, she had to say something about it.

Starscream was surprised for only a moment before he huffed and shook his head. He hadn't even realized that he had been staring. But then something clicked in his processor and he smirked. "What, is it a crime to stare at possible enemies? I am only trying to figure you out. Is that such a crime?" He repeated her earlier comment in a snide way.

Cole gave him a dead stare for a very long minute before she huffed and smirked. She actually found him amusing for turning her words against him. It something she would have done. "Whatever. Do what you want. Just don't bug me." She said with some edge and she turned away to resume her jogging.

However, she had to stop abruptly as a clawed foot stepped down right in front of her, stopping her from leaving.

Jerking her head up, Cole glared up at Starscream for even doing that. "What the hell? You could have stepped on me!" She snapped, her hands balled up into fists.

"Tempting but not my intentions." Starscream remarked with a smirk. "You didn't answer my question from before." He huffed when Cole gave him a questionable glare. "What did you mean I seem different from what you heard?"

Cole glared harder at him but shook her head as she turned to go around his wide foot. "I don't have to answer to you...! HEY!" She suddenly yelped when the giant picked her up. She began pounding and kicking at his servos, cursing some pretty nasty words as he lift her right up and dumped her into his other hand. She sat on her butt glaring at him. "What the hell is your problem?" She demanded.

Starscream merely smirked as he dipped his head down a little. "I don't like being ignored. Sorry, but I am holding you hostage until you speak to me." He said in a very teasing way.

Huffing angrily, Cole folded her arms as she sat there glaring at him. She refused to play this game. She wasn't going to talk. "Forget it! I was just trying to rile you up, robot." She growled at him.

"Really?" Starscream drawled with a smirk before shrugging. "Why do I not believe you then?" He recieved no answer but a glare. His smirk widening, he merely shrugged again. "All right. I have ways to get you to talk."

Stiffening, Cole eyed him with suspicion. She didn't like the way he said that. "Bullshit. You won't torture me. The Autobots would dismantle you if you tried." She said, though with uncertainty.

Smirking evilly, Starscream took a step forward with her. "Only if I do it here, in their proximity limits." He sneered before he suddenly bolted forward and made a swift transformation. He ignored the yelp of surprise from the human in his hand as he blasted off into the sky, quickly setting her into his cockpit.

Alarmed, Cole found herself trapped in the Decepticon's cockpit and very quickly leaving the ground. She couldn't even find a word to say or even scream as she looked wide eyed out the window and saw the Autobot Base quickly being left behind as she was charted off.

She was being kidnapped ad she couldn't even find something to say?

Oh, hell no!

"What do you think you are doing? This is kidnapping! You will be destroyed for sure if something happens to me!" Cole snapped, glaring at the control panel.

Over the radio system, Starscream chuckled darkly as he continued to speed away from the base and over the Grand Canyon. "Only if the Autobots catch us. Besides, I need to run a diagnostics check over my systems any way. You can tell me while I am doing that." He told her as he rose higher and higher into the sky, nearly in the clouds now.

Cole tensed as she saw the ground become extremely far away. She could feel her heart sky rocketing right into her throat and making it hard to breathe. She did not like flying very much. She never had. It was always the thought of getting shot down and turning into a ball of flames that got to her.

"Are you injured?"

Cole jumped at the sound of Starscream's voice from the control panel. She had almost forgotten already that she was in a living being. "Wh-what?" She stammered.

An irritated sigh sounded all around her, making her jump again. "I said are you injured? I am picking up your heart rate and it keeps jumping." The Decepticon growled.

Cole scowled darkly at him, shaking her head. "No! I am not bloody hurt! I hate flying! It freaks me out! Plus I have been taken by a psychopathic robot! So excuse me for having a panic attack!" She snapped.

Chuckling Starscream found that highly amusing. "Have you ever tried flying?" He asked her.

Cole gave the control panel a scathing look. She wasn't sure where he was going with this at all. "I have been on a plane before. It freaks me out every time. I even get a little motion sickness. So if I barf on you, don't get pissy." She growled at him.

Starscream would have been glaring at her, not amused any more if he could. But there was just that one idea that he thought would be more fun to try. "But you have not tried to fly a jet by yourself, have you?"

"What is that suppose to mean?" Cole demanded.

"It means, I am going to teach you how to fly, human." Starscream said with a chuckle before he shut off his controls.

Slowly, the jet began to descend and fall.

Cole felt her breath catch in her throat as she looked outside and see that they were indeed starting to fall. She couldn't believe he was doing this. Especially when they were starting to fall fast. "Yo-you have to be kidding me! You are going to kill me!" She yelled at him.

"What do you think will happen to me if I hit the ground, myself? I think it will kill both of us if we crash. So I suggest you start flying." Came the Seeker's amused reply.

"You son of a bitch!" Cole snarled and folded her arms. She wasn't believing him for one second. He wasn't going to do this. He wouldn't!

The jet was picking up speed in the fall and the canyon was quickly approaching now. Cole tried to grit her teeth, waiting for Starscream to gain control again, knowing he wouldn't allow himself to crash.

But as the cliffs were getting ever so closer, the Seeker still didn't do anything.

"Better hurry! We will be hitting those cliffs in exactly one minute and thirty seconds!" Starscream stated as he nose dived straight for the cliffs. And it didn't look like he was going to do anything about it.

Swearing, Cole unfolded her arms and gripped tightly at the seats. "You wouldn't!" She yelped, her fear rising up higher.

"I would." Chuckled the so called Decepticon Leader.

Another curse word escaped Cole before she lashed out and grabbed the control stick, pulling at it hard. She really had a hard time doing such a feat and had to use a lot of her strength to try and level the jet out. The entire jet began to shake violently as the velocity of the fall was starting to get higher. And all she could do was pull harder at the stick.

Finally, the jet seemed to rise its nose as they quickly approached the cliffs. Cole quickly looked around the control panels and found the engine gage and switches before flipping them. With a roar of the engines, the jet kicked back up as it only had thirty feet left from hitting the Earth and the Seeker went screaming right back up into the sky and across the rough terrain of the cliffs.

Breathing in relief, Cole kept the jet leveled as they went screaming in the air. She couldn't believe that this ridiculous Decepticon pulled such a dangerous move. He could have killed them!

"What the hell is your problem?" Cole snapped as she flew the jet now.

"Just teaching a human to fly." Starscream chuckled darkly. "You are flying, you know? Though, it seems to me you do have some experience. So I can only calculate that you have flown a jet before."

Cole glared at the controls before huffing in irritation. "Alright, so I did have some training in flying a jet. I was a part of the Air Force for a little while until I transferred to the Special Ops. But that is no excuse! Why did you kidnap me and nearly kill me!" She demanded. "And don't give me that teaching a human how to fly bullshit!"

There was a pause before Starscream took control again and tilted upward to stream upwards again. "I couldn't possibly even begin to explain why." He suddenly admitted, surprising both of them. "I suppose...it bothered me to see how frustrated you looked while running. I can only calculate that it has something to do with what happened in the interrogation with the pitspawn."

Cole was silent for a moment. She was surprised by his words and he did surprised at himself for admitting such thoughts.

Finally, she sighed and folded her arms tightly. "See, that is what I am talking about." She remarked and she sensed his inquiry. She shook her head. "I heard about what you did for the girl named Dawn. I was told you hate humans and those Autobots. I have heard you have slaughtered many and yet...you saved a human girl's life even if it was for your own benefit. And you have a thing for babies and children. So why is everyone telling me you're heartless when I am not seeing it? Especially after what you just did to getting Freddricks to talk about the sparklings and Sean."

Starscream's only reply was grumbles. He obviously wasn't going to answer.

There was a long silence as Starscream rose higher into the sky before finally dropping back down, checking his wings, his engines, his landing gear, his navigational systems. It seemed everything was in working order.

"What about you?" He suddenly asked, jolting Cole out of her thoughts. "Why were you with the Department? And why do you hate our kind so much?"

Cole thought for a moment before she shook her head. She usually didn't like to explain anything about herself. But...there was just a nagging feeling or urge to say it to this one. "I joined the Department for a few reasons. One, I believed your kind was coming to Earth to invade us. So I just wanted to be a part of the whole saving the world shit. Two," her eyes lowered with a saddened look. "I hated my father."

Starscream internally frowned as he listened. "Why?" Was all he could ask.

Cole wrapped her arms around herself, shaking her head. "Mostly family problems. I blamed him and Reno for my twin sister's suicide." She felt him stiffen from all around her. "My father wouldn't let her marry the man she loved. And Reno, he ran away like a coward, not fighting for her when he should have. I lost the one person that I cared most about because she couldn't make the choices that she wanted to make."

There was a brief silence as Starscream merely circled across the canyons, enjoying the flight yet felt troubled by what was being said. He didn't know why it bugged him so much at this human's misery. There was just something that pulled at his spark about her.

"I recently lost one of my brothers."

Cole looked surprised at the control panel and she could have sworn she felt surprise radiating around her from the jet. It was as if the robot was surprised at himself for blurting that out. "What happened?" She asked him.

"I think you already know what happened. You were there when Barricade and Groundhog showed up asking for the Autobots' help." Starscream said sourly.

"Oh. Yeah." Cole said remembering the night that she had been found out at the club. She remembered listening in to what the cop car had said about their defection from their former group. She remembered hearing that one of this guy's jet mates or whatever had stayed behind to distract the so called Minicons. "So...you know what it's like. Losing someone you care about."

Starscream didn't answer but he didn't need to.

Nodding in understanding, Cole felt her lips curve. She didn't out right smile. No, that would be dumb. She never smiled. More like...she smirked. "You help me destroy the Department and save Sean, I will help you destroy the ones who killed your brother and save the Sparklings." She said darkly.

Even though it was hidden, Starscream smirked his own darkly. He didn't know what this human could do, but he found himself agreeing. "Deal." He chuckled rather in a sinister way.

It couldn't be helped. Cole smiled, though in her own sinister way.

Landing back on the hangar strip, Starscream almost regretted even coming back. Even as he opened his cockpit to let Cole climb out onto his wing and he transformed, catching her carefully in his servo so she didn't fall.

It was due to the fact that two medical officers were glaring at him and tapping their feet impatiently as they waited for his return. It didn't help that his own trine mate was cringing. Or that that ridiculous Weapons specialist was grinning madly, knowing of how much trouble the Decepticon Seeker was in. Nor the chuckling Legend who was watching from the corner. Or the stern look that the Autobot Commander was giving him, along with a glowering couple of humans.

"Oh slag." Starscream groaned as he held Cole in his servo, who glared back at the opposite group.

"STARSCREAM! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING GOING OUT FLYING BEFORE I GAVE YOU A FULL RECOVERY CHECK UP FIRST! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN STILL INJURED!" The extremely grumpy Autobot CMO snarled. "AND WITH A HUMAN NONETHELESS!"

Starscream huffed in irritation as he shared a glance with the human femme, who looked just as irritated as he did.

"I told you not to do anything strenuous until I at least gave you the clear, Starscream! We do not know if you are fully functional yet!" Ratchet went off on the Decepticon Leader.

Starscream growled his engines, his arms folded across his chassis. He really hated being lectured. Especially by an Autobot medic. "I am fine! I was running my own diagnostics! Everything is in order!" He snapped back as he allowed Groundhog to run scans over his frame. He had refused to even let Ratchet come near him. And he knew that annoyed the Autobot CMO. But it couldn't be helped. It wasn't like Ratchet knew too much about Seeker frames as it was.

"We don't know that, Starscream! You flew very high! What if you had started to fall apart or it put too much strain on yourself? You could have ended up in stasis! And then what would have happened then?" Ratchet ground out at him before waving a hand towards Cole, who was grinding her teeth. "What makes it worse, you had a human with you! If your systems would have failed, she could have been killed with you! That was too reckless and it could have cost both of your lives!"

Starscream and Cole both growled at the same time, not even glancing at each other.

Optimus cleared his vocal processor to halt Ratchet's ranting. "As it is, it was reported by one of the human soldiers that you took Miss Cole unwillingly for the flight test. We almost sent Jetfire after you to retrieve her. And I assure you, it probably wouldn't have been pleasant. Taking one of the humans unwillingly is not impressive or allowed, Starscream. I am afraid we will need to apply certain..." he was saying.

"Oh shut it! So he took me for a flight test! He didn't hurt me! He actually was helping me!" Cole suddenly snapped, surprising everyone, Starscream included.

Everyone stared in bewilderment at the infuriated woman, stunned that she would be standing up for him. Especially with what he had pulled with her. But what really got them was what she said. Ironhide was the one who snorted in disbelief. "Helping you? With what? Dying from a long drop? Screamer, there, doesn't help anyone but himself. Especially humans." He said sarcastically.

"Ironhide." Optimus warned.

Cole, however, glared at the big black Autobot. "Look, you! What he was helping me with is none of your business! The thing you need to worry about is I am not hurt! Does it look like I have a scratch on me?" She snapped, raising her bare arms and turned in a circle so that everyone could look her over. "Am I limping or am I in pain? No! I am not! So back the fuck off him! He didn't do anything wrong! As for you," she shot Ratchet a look who scowled. "I would think he would know his own body frame! If he says he is fine, then he is! And you!" She looked at Optimus, who sighed and shook his head. "You are the one who is putting trust on him in the first place to working with you and us, humans! So why don't give him the benefit for god's sakes! As for me, I don't need or want you trying to watch out for me! I am fully capable of taking care of myself! I have been doing that for a long time now! So back off!"

And with that said, she whirled to face Starscream next, who couldn't hide the amused smirk at all.

"And you! Thanks for the flying lesson and listening! It was fun!" She growled out before stomping away.

There was a long awkward silence as everyone stared after her. Some of the humans who were even in the room seemed to be holding their breaths the whole time because it was Epps who exhaled loudly, making his other fellow humans jump at the sound.

"Damn." Epps drawled before he snickered. "She sure told you lot off, didn't she?"

"Epps." Will groaned, covering his eyes with one hand.

Chuckling with dark amusement, Starscream finally tore his burning gaze from the door that the woman had even went through. "I like her. She reminds me of myself. In femme form." A pause. "And squishy."

"And totally better looking."

Starscream snarled in Epps' direction but the dark human only snorted with laughter, forcing a few others to join in.

Optimus, however, chuckled as he cupped his face plates thoughtfully. He did find that interesting, however. Something was coming into light and he wasn't too sure what it was yet. But glancing over at a smirking Jetfire, he knew that the oldest of their kind saw it too. Especially when the Legendary Seeker pinged him and gave a rather sly nod.

Nodding back in understanding, Optimus turned back to Starscream, trying to hide the amusement. "Glad to hear that, Starscream. Because I think I should point out that we, the Autobots, usually have human partners. And we have assigned some of your Decepticons as such so they can learn more about the humans. So therefore, Cole Keller will be your ward." He said trying not to laugh.

Starscream's head snapped back around as he looked with wide optics at the Autobot Leader. "WHAT?" He screeched, making many in the room cringe under how high pitched it was.

"Oh Primus. This won't turn out well." Groundhog murmired, even though he had been approached with the idea of a human ward as it was. He had even agreed to it to watch over and work with Nik Boyd too. And didn't mind.

But Starscream...he was another mech and another matter.


	28. Back On Track

It had been an aggravating explanation to the President and the UN, especially with Galloway butting in every time. But Keller finally managed to explain the new situation about the Decepticons. It had been quite un-nerving trying to explain though. Keller had told the Officials of what had happened to the Decepticons and was explaining that there was a new threat on Earth called the Fallen. The President had listened patiently but the UN took a note out of Galloway's book and demanded answers.

Eventually, Keller had no choice but to call Optimus and Jetfire in to explain.

After Optimus explained the deal with the Decepticons, the UN calmed down just a little bit but they were still not happy.

"Optimus, how do we know this won't blow up in our faces? What if it is a trap?" The President asked seriously.

"Exactly! Excellent question, sir!" Galloway said smugly before giving a cold look to Optimus. "The Decepticons are international terrorists, Prime! They have killed a lot of human lives! We should not be helping them! We need to destroy them before they do something against us!"

Jetfire began to growl, glaring at the human. "Destroy them? They came to us for help, Galloway! They are being hunted by their own! As it is, they have already sworn to Primus to assist us!" He snapped, clearly annoyed by this.

Galloway shook his head, pointing a finger at him. "And pray tell me why we should help them? When they are nothing but dangerous! If we do not strike them first, they will turn on you and us!" He turned towards the vid screen, shaking his head. "Mr. President, I say we dispose of the Decepticons before they have the chance. Gather them up and destroy them before they..." he was saying.

Snarling, Jetfire slammed his foot down, making the ground shake and Galloway flinch. "Why destroy them? When they have nowhere to go, when they are being hunted down like criminals?"

"Jetfire, calm down." Optimus said firmly. He was getting frustrated with how many times he was saying that lately.

"They are criminals! They are alien criminals who murdered human lives! And now you are asking us to take a chance to trusting them?" Galloway snapped.

"Galloway." The president warned.

Jetfire growled, his optics narrowing dangerously. "What do you think will happen when we have to face the Minicons and Unicron without help, human? You really think a handful of Autobots and a planet full of small humans can take out the Dark God of Cybertron?" He asked darkly.

"I bet we can." Galloway growled right back.

Jetfire chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "Unicron has devoured hundreds of planets full of life, human. He is nearly the size of Jupiter. You tell me that you can defeat him when we had a hard time doing it? Bullslag. You will die if you don't have help. You will be destroyed. Even we had a hard time trying to destroy him. Trust me, we need the Decepticons. More n' likely, we will still die but at least we will have a better chance. I say that cause Starscream KNOWS how to fight the Minicons. He knows how to destroy the Sweeps and their master, Scourge. He certainly can take out Cyclonus. He didn't become the Air Commander for nothing. The Minicons have Seekers, humans. And if anyone knows how to take 'em out more than me, it will be him." He said darkly.

Galloway opened his mouth to keep arguing. He wasn't going to give this up.

"Galloway, that is enough." The President said sharply. And the Liaison clicked his mouth shut. Taking a deep breath, the President looked at Optimus. "How certain are you that we can trust Starscream and the Decepticons?"

Optimus shook his head, lifting his head. "Not 100%, Mr. President. But...Starscream has proven himself in a few situations. He is protective of children, whether he wants to show it or not. Humans or Sparklings. I can guarantee you, he won't protect human adults. But children...he will." He stated.

Jetfire nodded thoughtfully. "Actually I believe I know the answer to that one. If I remember right, there is a program that all Seekers are sparked with that makes them naturally protective over sparklings. It is only natural for them to be protective over children. Before the war, Starscream was not only a scientist but a guardian of the Sparkling Development Facility back on Cybertron." He shrugged when he received confused looks. "That was basically a school for Sparklings after they were sparked from the All Spark." He explained.

Everyone frowned as they listened to Jetfire. But they understood what he was saying. They were starting to get a bigger picture about the Seeker.

Slowly, The President nodded as he took a deep breath. He turned his eyes onto Optimus. "All right. Optimus Prime, we will give them a chance. But if something happens, it will fall on you. It will be serious enough that we may have ask you to leave Earth. And I would not want to do that." He told him.

Optimus only nodded in understanding. He did understand what kind of pressure that he was putting on the President. The dangerous road he was treading. If the partnership with the Decepticons did go bad, it could mean the worse. The loss of trust and friendship with humans could cost a lot. Especially now.

When Sideswipe had asked Dawn to marry him and become his sparkmate.

If something would have happened with the Decepticons, if they turned on them and the humans when they weren't looking, it would be all of the Autobots forced to leave. And that would mean Sideswipe would have to leave Dawn. And Ultra Magnus would have to leave Rex. Spitfire would leave Elena. All of them would leave their friends and loved humans unprotected. That wasn't fair to all of his Autobots who had gained so much from being here, on Earth.

"It won't happen, Mr. President." The Prime swore, and hoping it wasn't in vain.

Once the meeting was over, Optimus and Jetfire made their way out of the giant conference room with Keller. None of them spoke for a long time as they settled their thoughts. They had watched Galloway storm away, but they knew that it wasn't the last they've seen from him. Especially right before they ended contact with the President and the UN, he requested to stay at the base to keep an eye on things with the Decepticons. For some reason, that didn't seem to bode well on Optimus. But he didn't have much to say about it when the President requested the same thing from him to allow Galloway to stay. He just had a bad feeling about that human.

"Optimus," Keller finally spoke after a long while. "How are you going to insure that the Decepticons behave? This could very well blow up in our faces. Especially with Galloway staying here."

Optimus lowered his head with a heavy sigh. He very well did know that. But he was really hoping that things would work out. Because if they didn't...he shuddered at the idea. "We can only hope to Primus it will not befall to that, John. We must trust Primus and your own God to make sure things do not turn sour in our favor when it comes to the Decepticons." He said rather wearily.

"You are gambling a dangerous game, love."

Optimus turned his head to see Elita One making her way over towards them. She looked rather worried but did her best to hide it.

Smiling faintly in his own way, the Prime greeted his mate with the gentlest of touches to her face plates. She leaned into his touch before smiling back and then looking serious. "I am reading our bond, Optimus. You really think this will work?" She asked carefully

Sighing again, Optimus shook his head and kept walking with Jetfire and Elita One. "I am hoping it will, Elita. I honestly do not know what to do from this point. Pairing the Decepticons up with human wards is the only thing I can think of at the moment. We must trust the humans to find a way to connect and open up Starscream's and the Decepticons' sparks. Though, that may be a really long shot. We have to leave this up to Primus now and pray that it will work." He told her.

"Speaking of which," Keller added curiously. "I will need a detailed list of which Decepticon has who as a human partner. Just so that we can keep an eye on the humans and make sure nothing goes bad." He said with amusement. "I am definitely interested to knowing who you decided to pit with Starscream. They must be a real brave soul to have to deal with him."

Optimus and Elita One stiffened while Jetfire burst into booming laughter.

"Oh, Optimus. You didn't tell him?" Elita groaned, covering her optics with one hand.

Keller frowned. "Tell me what?" He asked now suspicious.

Optimus coughed lightly and looked everywhere but Keller. "Er...John, about the partnership between Starscream and a human..." he was saying uneasily.

Keller narrowed his eyes before shaking his head slowly. "You have chosen the human but I'm not going to like it, am I?" He asked suspiciously.

Groaning, Optimus shook his head. "I am afraid not, John. You see, the only one who is compatible to dealing with Starscream is..."

"Optimus!"

Heads jerked around to see Hound hurrying towards them with Glenn on his shoulder. Both of them looked rather excited about something. There was definitely something up and it did make everyone wonder what had happened now.

Frowning, Optimus stepped closer to the two, nodding for them to go on. The previous conversation with Keller could wait for now. This looked a little more important at the moment. "Hound, what is it?" He inquired.

Hound grinned at the Prime, nodding to over his shoulder. "Whatever Starscream did with Teletraan, it worked! We're back on track! We found the Department Facility that the Department agent spilled about! There is one in Lebanon, Kansas!" He announced brightly.

Everyone stiffened but in a good way. Optimus gave a sharp nod before starting towards the Intelligence Command Center. "Let's see it." He said immediately. And everyone followed.

The Intelligence room was abuzz with activity. Maggie, Anya and Leo were still on the computer top, looking at a map diagram of Lebanon, Kansas and talking rather excitedly when everyone arrived. They looked up at the others' approach, smiling.

"What do we have?" It was Keller to ask.

Maggie reached into her pocket and pulled out a laser pen before using it to circle an area just outside the small town. "Teletraan picked up activity here. There is an old abandoned silo center set up here. Only it hasn't been abandoned. It is supposed to be but he picked up many heat signatures in the center. So there are definitely people there. From what the satillite scans are telling us, there is suppose to be a farm built right on top of it. Either the farm belongs to the Department or the owners don't have a clue what's under their feet." She told them.

Hound nodded as he went over and set Glenn down next to her. "There is also a small fraction of Energon readings there. So we are guessing there are Cybers there too. Plus Teletraan has picked up some electric activity there too. Some high levels too. So they are doing something with it. I had Teletraan do some external and internal scans and by the looks of this place, it is pretty big. Most of the facility is underground." He told them.

Optimus nodded as he took everything in. This sounded like the big one. They had the Department facility right in their sights. And normally they would send one of the scouts like Bumblebee, Spitfire, or even Mirage to check it out. But with the nature of the mission, on who was in danger, they needed to move in now.

"All right. We will gather a team and go in. We need to locate the Sparklings and Agent Sean as soon as possible. Their lives are depending on us finding and rescuing them." Optimus stated. He looked over at Hound, nodding. "Good work, Hound." He looked at the others. "You too, Maggie, Glenn, Anya and Leo. We could not do this so soon without your help. As of now, we need to get everyone together and set a meeting."

Everyone nodded as they took it all in. They knew the urgency of the situation. Lives were at stake and they needed to find them immediately.

The meeting was called and everyone at the base was called to join. Even the Decepticons were called, seeing that all of the Autobots on the base was at the meeting. And surprising, Nemesis Strika was in a whole different mood. It surprised everyone that she willingly stood next to Ultra Magnus, who spared a smirk towards her. No one understood it. But they didn't ask about it.

All of the humans were there too, including Cole. A few Autobots glanced at her due to them hearing about her blow up with Optimus, Ratchet and Ironhide. She had glanced at Starscream who looked pretty annoyed. She had no clue what was wrong but Optimus sure did. They just hadn't discussed it with her yet.

"All right, everyone." The Prime began. He nodded to Hound, who was preparing a Hologram program so everyone could see what to expect. He motioned for the Autobot tracker to start it and it popped up with the map of the facility. "We found the Department facility that Agent Freddricks told us about. We are preparing to roll out in two hours so we will need to have everything together that we need. As well as the team that will be going." He looked right at Cole, who was already starting to say something. "And yes, Miss Cole. You are a part of the group that will go. I think it best if you did because we are dealing with the Department. You would probably know more of the layout of the facility than any one of us."

Cole merely shrugged as she folded her arms. "I haven't been to the Lebanon facility before. But the Department facilities are pretty much the same. They keep them pretty simple if not high in security." She told him.

Optimus nodded as he took it in. "Very well. What can you tell us that we should expect from the facility?" He asked her. And all attention was on her.

Huffing, Cole thought for a moment before shrugging. She figured why not just say it. "The Security will be really tight. They have sensors that pick up your radiation signatures when you try to enter the facility. It will trigger some security weapons that could rival the EMP weapons that I told you about. So there will be no way any one of you can enter the facility. It will have to be humans who go in." She told him.

Everyone stiffened, the Cybertronians, especially. None of them seemed to like that idea.

"We can't let the humans go in alone. That would be too dangerous." Ironhide said, with a slight growl.

Most of the humans frowned at him but Cole scoffed as she gave him an impatient look. "You let humans fight with you against Decepticons but when it comes to people like the Department, you have to freak out?" She shook her head. "If I didn't know better, you don't have faith in your human allies."

Ironhide sputtered, outraged by her words. "I DO TOO!" Hr snarled.

Cole frowned sternly at him as she shifted her weight to her other foot. "Oh, yeah? Then you will let us do this. Your human allies are mostly of American soldiers. They have risked their lives in terrible battles before. So give them the benefit." She said darkly.

Optimus held up a hand when Ironhide tried to argue, halting his words. "She is right. We must trust our human allies to be able to pull off the operation on their own. Commander Lennox, you and Former Agent Cole will be leading the human team. As long as you don't mind." He stated.

Will and Cole glanced at each other, but shrugged at the same time. They figured that would work. "All right. I don't see a problem. I can work with Cole on this." He said, smiling.

Optimus nodded in satisfaction before looking around at everyone else. "I will leave it up to them to pick the human team. But for the other team, we cannot allow the humans to not have back up so, therefore, I will lead an eight bot team. And only eight. We still need a few Autobots to guard the base just in case of an attack by Minicons or the Department. So who else will go?"

Ratchet immediately held up a hand. "I will go. Who knows what condition the Sparklings are in or Sean McCourie. So I need to go. But I will need another set of medic hands. So which will go along, Jolt or Groundhog?" He asked looking at the two, surprising everyone by his words.

Again Ironhide sputtered. "Wh-what? We can't let a Decepticon go with us?" He yelped.

Everyone frowned at him, not impressed. The Decepticons especially. They did not like the prejudice that Ironhide kept bringing up. They knew that he had a hard time trusting former enemies. It would take some time to trust the Decepticons.

"Really? Well that's too bad. Cause I'm going!" Nemesis Strika stated in a bold tone.

Everyone looked wide eyed at her.

"WHAT!" The Autobot Weapons Specialist exclaimed.

The Decepticon femme folded her large arms and lift her head higher. "I have a screw to pick with these humans! They caught me and tortured me! So I am paying them back!" She looked over at Optimus who rose his eye ridges at her. "And don't worry, I don't intend to kill your precious humans. I only want to volunteer to help, Prime. All I been doing is moping around and it is getting boring! I need to get out of this place before I start killing people! Besides, you might need muscle. And I can provide that. I am a pretty strong Cybertronian, myself."

Optimus considered it for a long moment before shrugging. "Sure, why not?" He stated.

"Optimus!" Several yelped, humans and Autobots.

Ultra Magnus scoffed loudly before shaking his head. "Oh give it a rest, mechs and femmes! If Nemesis Strika wants to help, then let her. If it makes you feel better, I will go too. Just to keep an optic on her. If there's anyone that can take her, it's me. So buck up and shut up." He said words weren't too comforting but they trusted the Autobot Commander so no one argued.

"If it helps, I will go to help Ratchet." Groundhog said with a shrug. And the CMO nodded his thanks to the Decepticon Medic. So Jolt would be staying to keep an eye on things.

"Hmph. Well, I doubt that Ultra Magnus can control Nemesis Strika, so I will go as well. Besides, I want to see how dangerous these humans are." Starscream remarked.

"Well, I'm going. I can help disarm the Department agents pretty fast with my magnet pulsers, so that we can avoid casualties." Jazz said grinning.

"All right." Optimus said as he nodded. "Myself, Ratchet, Groundhog, Starscream, Jazz, Ultra Magnus and Nemesis Strika. We need one more. So who else would..." he was asking.

"Me!" Ironhide growled. "I ain't letting you, Jazz or Ratchet be surrounded by Cons!"

Everyone gave him a dry stare but Optimus nodded. "All right. Then we have our team." He looked at Lennox and Cole. "Have your team ready. We will roll out in three hours. We need to be in Lebanon as soon as we can." He told them.

Will and Cole nodded. "We will be ready." He said and then he and Cole began discussing who was to go.

Everyone could only hope that things went good for the mission, however. Lives depended on them to do it. The sparklings and the former agent, Sean McCourie's. But even as everyone thought about it or reveled in it, there was just that feeling that had gripped them.

And not a good feeling.


	29. Invading The Department

The teams were made up and everyone was about to head out. They were biding the others goodbye as they were going. Optimus was having Hound and Wheeljack set up a stand by station so when they did arrive to the facility, the two smartest Autobot officers could give a run down on it. Though, it didn't seem like it would matter since Simmons insisted on being with the human team.

There had been quite the argument between him and Will on the matter.

None of the teams seemed to be happy to have such a bossy former Sector Seven agent going. But Simmons made a pretty argument about going. He was a former agent and he was very good with computers. He insisted because he wanted to be there at the facility so he could hack Department mainframe so they could have more information on the mysterious Department. Plus he wanted to know more about this strange evil Doctor Hollander who had been stealing from S 7. He had not been happy whatsoever when Cole had revealed what Hollander had been doing.

However, Optimus did see Simmons' point on being there with them so it was him who convinced Will on letting him go. It took a little bit of effort but it worked out in the end.

As for who else was going, it was going to be Will, Cole, Epps, Reno, Vladimir, and Nik; though there had been a little fight about that one with Eliza, Dawn and even Keller, but the insisted he be there in case there were a few injuries. Ratchet eventually stated that he could use his help when dealing with human injuries, though he was well capable of taking care of them.

Some of the teens like Sam, Mikaela, Dawn and Trent wanted to go but their foot down on . It was too dangerous for the young ones to go. Especially for Dawn. With her carrying All Spark energy, and possibly injured Sparklings, they didn't want her to take the chance to allow the energy to work on repairs. Who knew what would happen if the All Spark energy kicked in when being around hurt Cybertronians?

However, there was only on the matter of the teams.

Skywarp.

"Why can't I come?" The Seeker wailed at his brother and Commander.

Grating his jet engines, Starscream glared at Skywarp. He was irritated that his brother was making such a fuss about being left behind. There were a few reasons he had given to Skywarp but the Seeker wouldn't listen. "Skywarp! I told you no! You are staying and that's final!" He snarled at his trine mate.

Skywarp wailed again as he threw himself forward and latched onto Starscream. "Bu-bu-but we are a trine! We watch each other's wings! We protect each other! We are brothers!" He cried loudly. "Let me come, Screamer!"

Starscream glowered darkly at him, his wings hanging low behind him. He was getting highly annoyed by his aerial brother's antics. Of course, when he heard snickering, he sent a at those who were laughing at the scene that Skywarp was making. And that was nearly everyone, starting with the twins.

But they sure stopped when Jetfire came up behind them and slapped their helms hard enough to make them yelp.

Jerking his head back to his brother, Starscream pried Skywarp's servos off him. "Skywarp, you are a full grown Decepticon warrior! Now act like it! Stop making such and stay here!" He snarled. And when Skywarp looked pathetically pouty, he narrowed his burning glare at him. "Don't make me ask Ratchet detach your wings, Skywarp. Because I will."

His wings falling down behind him, Skywarp pulled a good impression of a beaten puppy as he turned and slouched over to a corner to mope.

There was an awkward silence.

"Erm..." said Bluestreak as he scratched the back of his helm.

"Umm..." Cheetor added, watching the miserable Decepticon Seeker.

"That was..." Elita One tried to find anything to say.

Nemesis Strika scowled loudly, earning quite the look. "Pathetic." She growled, shaking her head.

Elita One shot her wards glance but shrugged. "Not what I was going to say but that will work." She said, lightly, hoping to defuse the situation.

Starscream scowled before shooting a look towards Optimus. "Are we done here? Shouldn't we go now?" He demanded.

Optimus huffed but nodded as he looked around at everyone. "All right. Autobots, humans and Decepticons, roll..." saying.

"Optimus, you really need to get some new material. That say is starting to get old." Jazz said with a snicker.

Optimus' shoulders hunched as he gave his Lieutenant a dry look.

But nonetheless, the humans clambered into the vehicle forms of the Autobots and they were off. Though of course, it was mostly the Autobots that they rode with. None of the Decepticons would let them ride with them. Even though, Groundhog wouldn't have minded.

So with Reno and Vladimir riding in Optimus, Lennox and Epps rode in Ironhide, Simmons rode with Jazz, Nik was riding with Ratchet, and Cole rode with Ultra Magnus, they were off towards Kansas.

Optimus, of course, led the unusual convoy. It was an odd sight to see three massive trucks, a sports car, a tow truck and a Hummer driving down the road. Somewhere above them, Starscream was flying above the clouds, probably to keep an optic out on what was ahead of the group.

"So any idea how long it is going to take to getting to Kansas?" Reno asked as he lounged back in Optimus' passenger seat, his arms folded behind his head.

"According to Teletraan's GPS system, normal travel time would be about 20 hours and 17 minutes. It is precisely 1062 miles from here." Optimus remarked.

"Primus, didn't think it would be a road trip like this." Came Ironhide's grumbles over the radio system.

"Well, it's a good thing we ain't normal human vehicles, now ain't it?" Jazz asked in amusement. "We can cut that time in half if we keep up to a good speed, I'm reckoning."

Optimus internally nodded in agreement. He knew it to be a long trip out to a state that was two states away. "We should arrive in Lebanon, Kansas in exactly eleven hours and forty-eight minutes if we go at the speed of 120 mph and without any stops. But because we do have humans with us, it will take twelve hours and fifty-five minutes. The least thing we can do is keep up as we can. And stop when it is needed."

"What about Screamer? He can get there a lot faster can by flying." Ironhide grunted.

"I am not about to ask Starscream to go ahead and risk his life to finding the Department, Ironhide." Optimus said sternly. "Doing that can be a problem. We are not even sure what kind of defenses they have. If they were to even catch sight of him coming towards them, they may harm the Sparklings or Agent Sean to insure that we do not meet our goals."

"Hm..." came the sly hum of the very one they talking about. "I can scramble the humans' sensor logs, Prime. How do you think I ever sneak up on you Autobots all of the time in the first place?"

"Dammit, Screamer! This is an Autobot Channel! Who said you are invited to listen in to our conversation?" Ironhide roared.

"Ironhide! Quit yelling! You're being too loud!" Said Will.

Starscream snickered over Ironhide's apologies to his human friend. "Please, Ironaft. I am a Decepticon. We do as we please. Even eavesdropping on Autobots. Besides, you are talking about me so I think I have the right." He remarked.

Ironhide growled viciously at the name Starscream called him. "Don't call me that, Con!" He snarled. "Keep it up and I will blast you out of the air."

There was a challenging snicker before the F22 jet came careening down out of the clouds, moving slightly too fast for such a feat. "Go ahead and try it, Ironaft. I can avoid your miserable cannon fire any time, anywhere." He sneered.

Ironhide's engine roared in fury and he tried to speed up to take up that challenge. But the big black top kick immediately slowed down when a very large red semi moved into the way.

"Ironhide, ignore Starscream! We do not have time for sparkling like attitudes right now! We are on a mission to save lives and gather more Intel on the Department! So get back in line and shut it!" Ultra Magnus growled before turning his hidden scanners onto Starscream. "Starscream, you say you are the new Leader of the Decepticons, but as of now, you are acting like a youngling. Quit trying to provoke a fight from Ironhide!"

Starscream snarled in agitation but he blasted off back into the clouds without another word.

Optimus sighed heavily, slouching a little on his tires. "This is going to be a long mission." He murmured, knowingly. Reno chuckled but reached over to give his large partner a comforting pat on his dashboard.

"Hey, Agent Cole," Ultra Magnus spoke up after a long silence of driving behind the convoy.

Cole had been checking her equipment as she sat in the passenger seat. She had brought her old uniform and was going over the tools she usually carried on her belt. But when the large red Semi started talking, she looked towards the holo form of the man beside her. "What?"

Ultra Magnus glanced at her before looking back at the road. "Why were you so upset about the Sparklings? When you found out what they were?" He asked, curiously.

Cole was quiet for a long time. She was considering the question and wondering how to explain. But then she looked away from Magnus' form, her eyes downcast. "I didn't know what they were until you told me. I didn't know that they were babies." She remarked in a quiet voice before looking down. "I got upset because of that and because there was this one that I got to meet at one of the labs. It...it wasn't like the others."

"How so?" Ultra Magnus asked frowning.

Cole sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. "It was...well, it was quiet, kind of peaceful. I always saw it as a girl so I called it one. She...was kind of cute. Terrified, but she tried to stay brave no matter what was done to her. I even gave her a name, though she really went by numbers in the lab. I liked her but I couldn't do anything for her. Whenever she saw me, she always seemed happy. That's why I got upset." She told him.

Ultra Magnus was quiet for a moment before he looked at her softly. "You unknowingly connected with her. You didn't like what was being done to her, correct?" He asked.

Cole shrugged. "I guess so." She stated. "I don't know what it was but...I hated it. I don't know what happened to her. She could be dead, for all I know. And it bothers me."

"Or...perhaps she is at the lab we are going to." Ultra Magnus said.

"I hope so." Cole said and she went quiet again. She did hope that the sparkling was there, and alive. If she was, she swore she would do everything she could to and protect it.

Most of the trip went unusually well and that was what worried Optimus. Not only was it quiet but the group traveled through Utah, Colorado and then hit Kansas without any problems and in about ten hours as well. There had only been a few stops for the humans, such as getting food and using public restrooms.

With the speed they had been travelling, he at least expected to be pulled over.

But later on as dawn approached, Optimus found out that Starscream had been scrambling police cruisers' speed frequencies and even distracting them by sending out false crimes going on elsewhere. He was thankful to the Seeker for that.

But finally, by mid afternoon the convoy arrived to Lebanon, Kansas.

It was a small town, that was for sure. There was only one real main street and people were friendly enough as they waved at the new arrivals as they drove by.

The plan had been to separate and enter one by one to avoid suspicion. Optimus had Jazz go in first with Simmons and Nik acting as if tourists. They were dressed in civilian clothes, taking pictures and such.

Of course it had been hilarious some of the reactions when Nemesis Strika drove through the town. Not many people would have expected to see a honka monster truck driving through. She had been pulled over once by a police officer and everyone had been sure there would have been problems with her. Especially when she didn't have a human. But it was proven she was fully capable of creating her own holographic image to avoid trouble.

Her human form was of busty caramel skinned, black haired woman who was clearly tough as nails. She was beautiful, that was for sure. Her hair was dark as coal with the exception of smoky gray highlights in her hair. Her eyes were black with a hint of red and she wore a black tank top and . her human form was ranged in the age of her thirties to forties.

Still, the police officer who pulled her over had been so intimidated that he didn't even give her a ticket for having such a huge vehicle on public roads.

Everyone was to act casual until dusk before they would meet back up. Starscream had to keep way out of sight so he either kept flying or found some old barn to hide in until the sun went down.

It was Ultra Magnus who discovered the whereabouts of the Department facility with Cole's help. She did remember the location of the facility after arriving and what they found was interesting enough.

"There it is." Cole said as soon as everyone met back up.

The Department facility did not look like a government facility at all. It actually looked like a huge farm. There was a pleasant house sitting next to a huge barn. An even bigger barn was sitting next to that one and it looked as if whoever ran this place was running an auto shop as well.

"Huh. Are you sure this is the place? It looks like something out of Smallville." Ironhide remarked.

Epps and Jazz snickered at the reference. But no one else dared to make a remark about Ironhide's choice of tv shows.

Cole nodded as she raised an eyebrow at him and folded her arms. "Most of the facilities are like this. The are disguised as something else to avoid being detected. Even as lame as this. It is all about deception and hiding from the real world. The facility that was in Montana," she looked at Ultra Magnus on that one. "It was under the appearance of being a forestry science division. So no one would actually go looking for it. This place is right on top of the Silo facility. There are plenty of Silo facilities all over Kansas. I won't be surprised if they are all connected to this one." She told them.

Optimus slowly nodded as he took it in. It did make sense. "I am unsure of how we should approach this facility, Agent Cole. So if you have any ideas, please share them." He told her.

Cole merely shrugged. "Well, I do have one. But you're not going to like it." She told him. And then she told them.

And she was right. The Autobots, nor did the Decepticons did not like her idea. But they honestly didn't have a choice.

It was too quiet with the exception of a rumbling engine approaching the house. The man looked out the kitchen window where he had been getting a drink and saw the large black truck pulling up. He frowned but shrugged as he made his way outside to greet the strangers.

Of course, watching quite the lovely red haired woman approaching the house had him going. It had been since he saw someone like her.

"Howdy, folks." The man stated as he rest his the belt loops and looked over the four standing before him. "What can I do for ya'll?"

Cole kept a pretty serious look on her face as she held up her old Department badge, revealing who she was. "Agent Cole, Special Agent of the Department." She held back when the man straightened, looking a little more serious than he should have. "I was sent to this facility to check things out. Make sure everything is all in order."

There was a pause as the man studied her before jerking his head toward the others. "And you all are?" He asked carefully.

Sharing a glance, Will, Epps and Simmons flashed the 'borrowed' Department ID badges they took from Freddricks and three others. "Agent Freddricks." Will said doing his best asshole impression and hoping the man would back off.

"Agent Quincy." Said Simmons though with a dead tone.

"And I am Agent Marshall." Epps said with a trickster' s grin.

Cole fought very hard not to shoot Epps a dark look. She honestly didn't believe him. Department Agents were suppose to be serious and such.

"Oh, Agents Quincy and Marshall," the man said with a snort and everyone stiffened. Even the big black truck stiffened. They were sure their cover was blown now. Cole started tensing up, ready to spring forward to knock this guy out. "I have heard of you two. You're the two who don't get along the most. Don't you like to tease and pull pranks on him, Agent Marshall?"

There was a stunned pause before Epps grinned really big and nodded. "Yessir, I sure do." He said giving Simmons a light nudge, who gave him a dark look.

Smirking, the man motioned to the 'agents' to follow him towards the large barn. He seemed amused by the reaction between Epps and Simmons.

But so far, so good.

The group of four were lead into the large barn, which seemed to be more of an auto shop. There were tools and machines everywhere as well as an old beater truck that seemed to be getting fixed.

No one said a thing as the man lead them to a wall where he grabbed at a hanging wrench and gave it a tug.

Suddenly there was a rumble as the gravel covered ground split apart, revealing a hidden door way. The door simply moved outward across the ground, allowing them access to a set of metal stairs leading downward.

"The guard station is at the bottom of the stairs. They will want to scan your IDs and DNA scans for security purposes. Welcome the Lebanon Department Facility. Any questions you have will be granted by the security guard who will lead you around." The man said before turning away and starting towards the barn door again.

However, he suddenly stopped as if a thought hit him. "Hey," he turned back to look at the group, who were still standing there. "Wait a minute. I think I had that wrong. Wasn't it reversed? Agent Quincy is the one who picks on Agent Marshall. That's right." His eyes flashed and he tensed.

Cole, Will, Epps and Simmons stiffened, shooting each other a look before it was her who started forward to take the man out.

The man, however, was diving for one of the buttons on the wall when a hand captured his and yanked him back.

The four watched as Vladimir Karpos put the man into a choke hold with one hand still covering his mouth to keep him from making any noise. There was a slight struggle between them before the man slumped, eyes closed.

"Did you...did you just kill him?" Reno asked as he snuck through the barn door with Nik.

Vladimir carefully set the man down on the ground and shook his head. "No. Russian Choke. He is just unconscious and will be for a few hours." He reassured them.

Everyone nodded before looking around. Cole had told them that there might be cameras hidden in the main entrance so they needed to find them and take them out.  
After searching the barn, they found only one but it appeared to have malfunctioned, which was a relief because it meant no one saw what Vladimir did. Then again, if someone had, the alarms would have been going off and the main grounds would be swarmed with Agents and guards right about then.

Giving the clear, Will whistled to the Autobots and Decepticons so they knew that they could approach bit very cautiously.

So far, nothing happened when they did.

"All right. We are going in." Cole said, checking her hand gun, some uneasy looks. "Keep a look out from out here. We will try to find the main hatch way controls so that we can let you in. But until then, stay in car and truck mode. We don't want you to blow your cover just yet."

Optimus internally nodded. "Understood. Be careful, my friends. Leave an open channel on the radio systems so we can listen in on what is happening. Once you locate the main hatch, open it so we can join you. And please, do not kill anyone if you can help it." He said eyeing Cole's gun wistfully.

Snorting Cole shook her head and held it up. "No worries. They're tranq rounds. If anything, they re going to knock out whoever I shoot." She reassured him.

"Oh, that's good." The Prime breathed in relief.

Cole snickered with a few others before turning towards the entrance way. They all hurried down the stairs with her in the lead.

The journey down the stairs didn't take long at all. It was getting down there did the problems even start.

The minute the group found the bottom of the stairs, there were two guards there waiting. And when they saw the group, they were on their feet with their hands on their guns.

"Who are you? What are you doing down here?" One demanded.

Immediately, Cole held up her badge to show them who she was. Will, Epps and Simmons were quick to doing the same. "Relax, gentlemen. Agent Cole, sent from main headquarters to look over the facility. I was sent to inspect the productivity of the experiments being done here." She said in monotone. "Doctor Hollander sent me."

The guards frowned at the badges but did not relax as the group thought. The first guard narrowed his eyes, still suspicious of her and agents. "Really? Did he now?" He asked cautiously.

Cole nodded, narrowing her eyes back at him. "Yes, he did." She said coldly.

The first guard slowly shook his head as his eyes flickered over to the second, who had popped the safety latch on his gun. The movement made the seven tense up, however. Vladimir was already putting a hand on Nik's shoulder, slowly pushing him behind him while Reno side stepped to help protect him.

The guards didn't seem to notice them, however. They were watching the four so called Agents very carefully. So it was obvious that they weren't fooled.

"Well, if that's so, then you won't mind me calling the good doctor up and request him to come greet you." guard said, already reaching for the phone sitting on the security desk.

Everyone stiffened from hearing that, Cole especially. She hesitated only for a second before bolting forward, ready to attack.

The sudden movement made the two guards jump and start to rip out their guns. They instantly realized that Cole was lying when she moved.

But they were not fast enough.

Immediately, Cole was on them, jumping onto the desk and sending both feet into their chests, kicking them hard so that they sailed into the wall and dropped their weapons.

The moment the attack happened, Will and Epps moved swiftly around the desk and were on the guards, to restrain them. Reno, Simmons, Vladimir and Nik watched, tense but they made no move as the toughest of the lot quickly restrained the two guards and gagged them. Cole took extreme measures to shoot both of them with a tranq dart, knocking them out cold.

"What is happening in there?" They heard Ironhide's voice through the ear pieces of their radios.

Reno quickly tapped the ear piece so he could speak to them. "Crisis adverted. Just dealing with the guards. Nothing out of control." He reassured the Cynertronians. He frowned when he saw Cole quickly flipping open a large book open and flipped through the pages. "Cole, what are you doing?"

Cole ignored him as she flipped through the pages very quickly and searched the passages. She frantically searched for the name she was looking for and then seemed to find it.

Because her face hardened.

"Son of a...!" She growled.

"What?" Will asked quickly hurrying to her side.

Cole looked up at the men, her eyes hard as she slammed a fist onto the desk. "He's here! The son of is here!" She snapped.

All of the men looked at one another frowning in confusion. They didn't understand who she was even talking about. They couldn't think of who it could be.

"Who is there, Cole?" Ultra Magnus asked from over .

Her face set into stone, Cole looked at the men her. She looked like a Fury from hell by how serious and angry she was. There was a look of determination set in her eyes and the men knew she up her mind about something. "Hollander. He is here. And if he is, then Sean is here."

All of a sudden, deafening alarms began blaring out all around them.


	30. Slipstream

Everyone jumped at the deafening sound, looking around with alarm. They weren't sure what just happened but they didn't want to know. They knew if alarms were going off, things just got messy.

"What's going in there? What happened?" Optimus asked hurriedly.

Will shook his head as he quickly looked at the security screens sitting on the desk. He hissed to see that many halls in the facility were now full of guards with weapons. "Looks like we got trouble. What should we do?" He asked looking at Cole.

Cole shook her head as she started down the hall as quick as she could. The men were quick to follow her, not wanting to get left behind. "I am going to look for Hollander and Sean! You guys find the power station! There should be a switch to open the main hangar doors so that the big guys can get in!" She told them.

"We shouldn't separate! It's too dangerous!" Reno stated as he hurried beside her.

Cole gave him a dark look but didn't argue. She knew he did have a point. So she nodded and led the way.

The group of humans rushed through the halls, looking around as they went. There weren't many rooms to look through and what rooms they did find looked like simple offices that didn't look too important.

Cole even told them that the first few rooms were more insignificant. The more important offices would be right by the labs and that was probably where they would find Sean and the Sparklings.

So they kept running.

And that was when they ran into the guards.

The group had just ran around a corner and right into the guards, literately. The two smacked right into each other and surprised shouts echoed off the walls as they leapt back from each other. The guards immediately reacted and brought up their guns to ward off the intruders.

But Cole and the soldiers reacted faster.

Spinning around like a funnel of fury, Cole kicked the first guard nearest to her, sending him into another and so on. The guards went down like dominos while Will, Epps and Vladimir were right on top of them, punching at them to knock them out. Reno, however, grabbed Nik and pulled him back as one guard left unscathed turned the gun on to them.

Before the guard could fire at them, Cole was on him. She had him bent backwards with his head locked under her arm before shooting him in the stomach with her tranq gun.

The guards yelped in surprise and pain but within thirty seconds, he dropped like a log to the ground, out cold.

Reno and Nik looked at her, nodding their thanks. Though the latter did look shaken up. He wasn't a soldier like Will, Epps and Vladimir were. Or Cole for that matter.

"You okay, Nik?" Will quickly asked, checking him over.

Nik, still a little shaken, nodded. "I am fine. I guess this is what I get for volunteering, nein?" He tried to joke.

The joke fell flat, however.

"Hey, where's Simmons?" Epps asked seriously.

Just then a head popped out from behind a door, belonging to Simmons. He was frowning deeply as if he had found something he didn't like at all. "In here. I think you better see this." He told them.

Everyone frowned at each other but quickly ducked into the room after him.

The room that he had been in looked more like a conference room but the difference was, there papers, maps and pictures strung up on the walls. It appeared that it was being used as a planning room.

Looking around, everyone scattered to see what they could find, though not everyone could understand what they were seeing. Simmons, however, marched right over to one of the walls, grabbing Will on the way. He proceeded to drag the soldier, ignoring his protests as he went.

"Does that look familiar?"

Will frowned but looked at what the former S 7 agent was pointing at. He saw a picture of a 3D square that seemed to be covered in silver markings. It was surrounded by tropical trees and vegetation as if the picture had been taken in a jungle. It did look familiar bit he couldn't...

His eyes widened before he grabbed the photo and ripped it down to get a better look. "What the hell?" He yelped.

Epps frowned but moved closer with the others to see what it was. "What is it, Will?" He asked studying the cube. And then his eyes widened when he finally recognized it. "Holy. Hannah. What the heck are they doing with pictures of that? I thought that was destroyed!"

Reno, Vladimir, Nik and Cole frowned at one another before they looked back at the other three. They didn't get it.

"What is that?" It was the Russian soldier who asked.

Will shook his head as he stared hard at the picture. He didn't understand it. How did the Department get a picture of this?

"Will, what is that?" Reno asked tearing his friend out of his surprised thoughts.

"That is the All Spark. But...didn't the old American Government find this years ago where they built the Hoover Dam?" Epps asked looking at Simmons. "This don't look right. The forest looks like a jungle."

Simmons nodded before snatching the picture from Will and getting quite the look for it. "That's because it is, genius!" And received a darker look from the dark skinned soldier but ignored it. He instead pointed at another picture of interest.

A picture of a metallic being that was hooked up to many wires and machines. It looked old and very ragged, nearly torn to bits as if it had a very bad accident.

"And it looks like the Department knows more than they been letting on." Simmons said as he motioned to the papers and schematics.

Nik pushed forward to look at them, his eyes widening. He seemed to recognize some of the symbols and designs. "Mein Gott." He swore in German. "These are...these are Cybertronian schematics. Whoever this is, they have been studying his frame. Ratchet had shown me some of the Cybertronian build up for their kind. These are very similar."

Will frowned at the picture of the Cybertronian, looking for a symbol of what fraction he might be but he wasn't finding one. There were, however, Cybertronian markings all over him. "These pictures...this guy looks like the same from that old grainy picture that was on Leo's stolen information. Looks like the Department still has him in their possession." He began taking down the papers and pictures, folding them and stuffing them into his many pockets. He motioned to Epps and Vladimir to do the same, which they quickly did. "We got to show these to Ratchet and Optimus. They might know who this is and what these means."

Everyone but Cole nodded as they began taking the many pictures and papers down.

The former Agent, however, huffed as she watched them. She was thinking this was a waste of time. "All right, since you're playing with the papers and such, I am going to look for Hollander and Sean." She ground out.

Will frowned at her before nodding. "We can probably cover more ground that way. Tale Reno with you. We'll follow you in a minute." He told her.

That didn't look like something Cole wanted to hear but she didn't argue as she turned with Reno and hurried out of the room.

Epps then realized something that they hadn't noticed yet. "Hey, why are Prime, the Autobots and the Cons being quiet? We haven't heard them say anything yet about this." He pointed out.

Will, Simmons, Nik, and Vladimir frowned at him but started to wonder.

"Slaggit! Why aren't they picking up? What happened to them?" Ironhide ranted after a long time.

Currently, the Autobots and Decepticons were still in vehicular mode and around the barn serving entrance to the Department facility. But things were getting were getting tense now.

Moments before, the radio connection with the humans had gone dead. Optimus had tried several times to speak to one of the humans but they didn't receive feedback. It worried all of them. Well, not Nemesis Strika. She couldn't care less. But she was getting a little jittery and trigger happy. Every moment of silence, she started to rock on her large tires.

For a long moment, Optimus and Ratchet were trying to get a hold of the humans but nothing seemed to be working. It was starting to worry them that something might have happened to their human friends and allies.

"Oh for the love of Primus!" Starscream finally snarled before suddenly transforming into his bipedal form, making the others jump. He moved forward, looking around the land of the barn.

"Starscream, what are you doing? We need to stay out of sight." Optimus told him, frowning internally.

Starscream shot him a look but shook his head at him. "It isn't working, Prime! There is radio interference with our connections to the humans! A symbol is blocking ours from talking to them! We don't know what is going on in there now! And I am getting fed up with just waiting around! The humans may need assistance..." he was saying.

Suddenly there was a rumble, making all jump and the Seeker dove behind the barn to stay hidden. They turned their scanners to the right to find that the large field was shaking and shifting as if splitting part.

Watching silently, the bots and cons waited to see what would happen and were surprised to see that was the case.

The ground was splitting apart! The main hatchway!

Before the group of Cynertronians could ponder if their human counterparts had anything to do with what was happening, there was a squeal of tires and roaring of helicopter engines before vehicles were spilling out from the opening.

And the Department agents and guards in them turned guns onto them.

Hurrying through the halls, Cole and Reno searched frantically for what they were looking for. The Department facility seemed to go deeper and grow much bigger. Almost as if they were finally getting somewhere. The corridors of the facility were getting large enough that even the Autobots and Decepticons could drive them or even walk them now.

"I think we are finally hitting the main labs!" Cole called over her shoulder. Reno nodded and they picked up their pace.

However, they didn't get far without running into trouble.

Guards were all over the place, looking for the intruders. The minute they found them, hell broke loose. Cole would immediately rush forward to meet them and Reno backed her up. They swiftly took them down without any problems.

Eventually, they met back up with Will, Epps, Simmons, Vladimir and Nik near a very large room.

The room, itself, was huge. Massive, even. And it was no doubt one of the main labs. There was machinery every where. It looked almost just like the room that had been in the Sector Seven base where they had kept Megatron in at the very beginning. Only some of the devices looked menacing.

There were large cranes with claw hook ups and electric rods hanging from the ceiling. It was almost like an automobile factory but they weren't used to putting vehicles together. It was used for taking Cybertronians apart.

The limbs of Cybertronians told them that much.

And they saw the Cybertronian on a large platform, clearly deactivated. It was very large and a deep acid green with many spots of rust all over it. So it probably had been there for a while, or at least on Earth.

"Who do you think that is?" Epps asked in a very solemn tone as they all looked at it.

Will slowly shook his head, his expression grim. He wasn't sure. It wasn't someone he recognized. From what he could tell, it was probably took the form of a large tank at one time.

"Who knows and who cares. It's dead." Cole remarked dryly as she walked over to a large control panel and pushed a button.

There was a loud rumble, along with alarms blaring and the ceiling began to break apart to reveal a night sky. And the sounds of explosions.

Immediately, the humans tensed up, especially when they watched as large cannon blasts go sailing high above them before there was a loud crash.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Will yelped before he and Epps rushed towards a set of metal stairs leading out.

The others decided to just stay put, knowing that they would get in the way.

"Zitch...! Crackle! We...! Slag...! Fragging...mans!" They recognized that voice belonging to Nemesis Strika.

Will and Epps slowed down as they approached the top and carefully looked outside only to duck as a fiery truck went flying across the way, surprisingly not falling into the wide opening of the lab hangar.

"What the...! Will, Epps, what is going on out there?" Reno called up to them.

Both American soldiers took a peek again and visibly flinched before ducking back down and went down the stairs rather hurriedly. They flinched when there was a loud crunch and they all heard the snarling of Starscream from the skies, making Cole tense up.

"Looks like the Department caught scent of the Cybers outside so they're up there right now. It's kind of a mess up there. But I think we better stay down here or we will just get in the way." Will explained.

Everyone frowned as they looked upward, listening to the fight before jumping when a large metal head popped out of nowhere to look down at them. The humans relaxed when they saw that it was just Jazz.

"Hey!" The silver saboteur greeted them. "Ya'll okay? You had us worried when we lost radio contact. We thought something happened to ya."

Will shook his head as he stepped off the stairs with Epps. "We're okay. But we got a bunch of things to show you guys when this is over. What's going on? When did the Department guys show up?"

Jazz shook his head as he looked around the battle field. "Not long after we lost contact with you. Starscream said there was a radio disruption wave going off so it was blocking our connection. I think it still is." He jerked around when there was an explosion and Starscream started snarling in Cybertronian again. He snickered at what was happening. "Course, it got really amusing when Skywarp showed up. I thought Starscream was going to purge bricks."

Everyone stared up at him, wide eyed. They weren't expecting to hear that one.

"What? Skywarp is here?" Reno asked uneasily.

Jazz snickered again before shaking his head. "Yup! He showed up right after we started to fight the Department! Starscream freaked out on him but didn't have time to keep it up! So he is pretty pissed right now." He told them.

"I don't blame him." Cole said darkly. "He told his brother to stay at the base and he didn't listen."

Everyone glanced at her before looking away. Reno, however, stared at her, frowning. "Cole, what is it with you and Starscream? Since when do you stand up for guys, anyway?" He asked her.

Cole glared at him, not amused. "There is nothing between us, idiot, if that's what you're talking about. He just understands me, that's it." She growled at him.

Reno snickered but chose not to comment. He knew not to push her. He would get his aft kicked if he tried to. And he would rather not.

Giving him a warning look, Cole turned around and stormed around to search for anything in the lab that might help her find Sean. The others figured that they better do the same. Jazz stood watch, shooting at enemies or capturing weapons from the humans while they did the work in searching.

Reno wandered to a large set of doors, opening it to look inside. He frowned to see how dark it was. He took a moment to find the light switch and when he found it, he turned them on to see what was in the room.

And froze, a shocked look on his face.

"Holy...Primus..." he said.

Everyone frowned at him before going over to see what he was looking at and they froze too. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. It, in all honesty, was horrible.

"Jazz!" Will called over his shoulder, quite alarmed by what he was seeing in the room.

"What?"

"You better get down here and see this! We need your scanner!" Will called again.

There was a pause for a long moment before the humans heard a loud thunk and the ground vibrated. They turned to see Jazz had dropped down into the lab and was approaching. He, however, hesitated to see the Cybertronian. His optics widened before he aimed his arm towards it, turning on the scanner. He scanned it for a moment before looking crestfallen.

"Friend of yours?" Epps asked, his tone falling in a little sympathy.

Jazz shook his head, eyeing the dead Cybertronian with a faraway look. "We weren't too close but we were friends. He was just as tough as Ironhide against Decepticons. Other than that, he was kind of a big softie. You'd have liked him." He told them with a deep sigh. "His name was Lugnut. He went missing for a good decade on a scouting mission, though he wasn't a scout."

Everyone gave him looks of sympathy. It was obvious that the mech was an Autobot now.

Sighing, Will shook his head, motioning to Jazz. "I am sorry about your friend, Jazz. It would have been nice to meet him. But that's not what we need to show you." He turned back to the room and pointed. "That is." He said grimly.

Slowly, Jazz made his way over to the large doors. He seemed to take his time, afraid to see what was in there. He was sure he was not going to like what he was about to see.

And he was right.

Because when he reached the door and looked in, he froze just like the humans had. There was a pained look on his face as soon as he saw all of the metal bodies.

"Oh...Primus..." The Autobot breathed with pain.

Inside the room, there were so many small bodies all over the place. On tables, in cages, just lying discarded on the ground like scrap metal but nearly all were hooked to electric wires. And the worse part was, some were still sparking up as if the power was still on.

It was the Sparklings.

Immediately, Cole hurried into the room to a large machine to pull a lever. There was a low rumble and the sparks died down immediately.

Jazz drew a shaky breath before raising his scanner and began running it over the many bodies. He was fully aware of the possibilities of what he was about to find. He could even see the humans were either watching him or looking around with pain.

As expected, the Autobot received no life scans. He sighed painfully and lowered his arm, shaking his head. "I'm gettin' nothing. But it don't mean anything. I ain't like Ratchet. He can find life signatures a lot better than I can." He stated before turning away and tapping his helm. "Ratchet, get down here. Fast."

There was a moment's pause before the radio crackled with Ratchet's reply. "I am a little busy up here, Jazz!"

Jazz scowled and glared up at the opening. "No! Now! Or you'll be very angry later!" He demanded loudly.

There was a pause but everyone could hear the tension over the crackling radio system. Everyone could tell that Ratchet was irritated by Jazz's demand. But he didn't start snapping at him.

In fact, he waited till he came over to the opening and climbed down into the lab to do that.

"All right, Jazz! What is so important that you have to pull me way from...!" Ratchet was growling as he approached.

But Jazz grabbed the CMO's arm and pulled him into the room so he could see what they were staring at. Only then he stopped talking and stared with wide eyes.

"Oh."

For a moment, Ratchet stared into the room before he literately slouched and fell against the wall. He heaved a huge sigh and raised his arm, scanning all of the bodies within the room.

It was obvious what his scans were telling him because he slouched even lower, his head falling. It was killing his spark to find how many dead he was finding. He eventually gave up and let his arm fall heavily at his side while his head dipped so low that it could have snapped off.

"Let me guess. No survivors." Reno said, his tone grim.

Ratchet sighed, nodding. "No survivors. And what makes it worse, there are a lot more than fifty. My scans are reading eighty." He told them.

Everyone looked crestfallen at that. They couldn't believe that all of the Sparklings were dead. They all had been killed by the Department. And it was obvious that it was recent. With the machines had been on, someone had to have turned them on when the alarms went off.

But then Cole jerked up straighter, looking around. She had heard something. She could have sworn she had heard a soft whirl or a cry. "What was that?" She asked.

Everyone looked at her in surprise. They weren't sure what she was talking about.

"What?" Simmons asked.

Cole continued to look around, listening hard. She could still hear the whirling sound. It was...strange but she could have sworn she felt something calling to her. She felt the pulling sensation that caused her feet to move before she realized it.

The men and the mechs looked surprised and Reno even called after her but she ignored him.

Hurrying through the many dead bodies, Cole followed the sounds. She just couldn't ignore them. She felt fear in the air even if the guys didn't.

"Cole, what are you doing?" Will called as he and the others hurried after her.

Again Cole ignored him as she hurried across the room towards a large table with cabinets. She saw that the door was slightly open and that was where the sound was coming from. She rushed right up to it and threw the door open to look inside.

A squeak greeted her as well as the sound of shuffling from inside.

Peering inside cautiously, Cole could barely see what was making the sounds. She leaned in a little to see better and saw something shift. She stiffened for only a moment before her eyes widened when she saw wide but dim glowing blue eyes peering back at her, belonging to a small trembling being made out of metal.

Cole's breath caught in her chest as she stared at the small form before she slowly bent to her knees. "Oh." She sighed, feeling relief whoosh out of her.

"What is it?" Epps called loudly.

The being flinched and whirled in terror at the sudden sound. It slammed itself into the back of the cabinet, making a loud clank.

Immediately weapons were yanked out and aimed at the opening.

But Cole jerked her head around and glared at all of the men and two alien robots. "Put those away and shut up!" She hissed angrily.

All of the males looked surprised but slowly did what they were told.

Once that was done, Cole turned back to the small form, trying to look as gentle as she could. She didn't move for a moment but stared into those glowing blue eyes. "Shh. It's okay." She whispered before slowly reaching in. Sje stopped moving when the small creature cringed, whirling in fear. "It's okay. I won't hurt you."

Slowly she reached forward, even as the being continued to cringe and whimper in fear. She didn't stop until her fingers gently brushed luke warm metal. She could feel it still trembling under her fingers but at least it didn't lash out like she thought it would.

Making soothing sounds, Cole gently ran her fingers across the warm metal, frowning slightly when she felt chips and indents. But she didn't make any sudden movements.

The small form continued to shiver but slowly, it looked back at the red haired human with dying fear. It whirled softly and Cole whirled right back.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you. I am a friend." Cole said very softly.

The form trembled again under Cole's gentle hand before shifting forward a little. The light barely reached it, making it easier to see. And when Cole saw it, her breath was caught for numerous reasons.

One, the small being was no doubt a Sparkling.

Two, it was covered in gashes, scratches and scorch marks as well leaking small trails of glowing green liquid.

And three, Cole knew this Sparkling.

It was a tiny thing; the size of a one year old child. It's metal limbs were more like small pipes and bars while it did have some metal coverings all over it. There was only a soft hint of color in the metal; a faint silver blue with silver trims. Pointed metal appendages were folded on its back, hanging low, though one of them were terribly bent. Small points were poking out of its head, giving it a slight pixie look. It really did look like a small metal fairy, honestly.

There was fear in its glowing blue eyes but it was mostly uncertainty that Cole saw. She realized it was pondering about her.

Forcing a gentle smile, Cole nodded as she slowly retracted her hand from the cabinet and motioned for it to come out to her. "Come, little one. Come to me. I will protect you." She said softly.

Eyeing her with fear and curiosity, the sparkling slowly inched forward, braving the idea of allowing Cole to slowly gather it into her arms. It tensed but the former agent did everything she could to not make sudden movements. She just slowly brought it to her chest and held it close to her in a comforting embrace.

"That's a girl, Slipstream." Cole whispered softly.

At the given name, the sparkling looked up with wide eyes before it seem to stiffen in Cole's arms. There was recognition now.

But instead of jerking back away from the former agent surprised her by moving swiftly forward and latching onto her shirt. All Cole could do was hold it and gently run her fingers cross the little one's head. "You remember me, don't you?" She whispered to it.

There was only the softest whimper and the sparkling trembled.

"Cole, is it a sparkling?" Ratchet asked from behind them.

Again, Cole felt the sparkling tense up and start trembling again but it didn't move away. It actually pressed closer to her.

Slowly, Cole nodded. "Yeah. But she's scared to death. More than likely she has seen what was done to the others. And she is hurt. She has this strange looking anti fluid spilling all over." She said quietly as she rest her chin gently on the small one's head.

Behind her, Ratchet and Jazz sucked in a horrified breath. They knew what she was she was talking about even if the men didn't.

"Can you bring her out? I need to see her injuries." The CMO said softly so not to scare the little one.

"Yeah, but I need everyone to move back so I can bring her out. You might scare her even more." Cole answered.

There was sounds of shuffling and with only a glance behind her, Cole gently lift the sparkling up into her arms. She felt the sparkling tense but she didn't jerk away.

Taking that as a good sign, the former agent slowly turned with her little bundle so that Ratchet could see her.

As expected, the sparkling whimpered in fear when she saw the group of males. She pressed almost painfully close to Cole, clutching tightly to her, beginning to tremble again.

Hissing softly, Ratchet activated his scanner and ran it over the sparkling carefully. He didn't like what he saw and it showed. "She is lucky to be still active. She has excessive injuries for such a tiny thing. The fluid that is spilling is her Energon, her blood. I need to work on her immediately if we want to save her. Will she allow me to take her?" He asked gently.

Cole looked up t him with a guarded look. She couldn't help but feel quite protective of the small being but then considered it. She knew that the large lime green robot wouldn't harm the sparkling.

So carefully, the red haired human tried to pull the sparkling away from her but it seemed that the sprkling wouldn't have it. Her grip on Cole tightened, refusing to be removed. A tiny whimpering whirl escaped from her, making hearts and sparks tighten in sympathy for her.

"Nope. She is scared." Cole stated the obvious.

Ratchet slowly nodded before taking a very careful step forward while getting into his chest compartment. He pulled out a small cube of Energon and messed with it a little with on of his fingers before slowly holding it out to Cole. "Cole, see if you cannot get her to eat this Energon. It has a tiny bit of sedative in it so it could put her into recharge. Plus it looks like she could use rest as it is. She is completely worn out. And if she doesn't get some rest, it could put her into self destruction." He told her.

Cole gave the cube a look of suspicion but slowly nodded as she reached out and took it from the Autobot. She slowly brought it up to the sparkling and held it up close to her. "Hey, little one." She spoke softly.

It took a good solid minute to get the sparkling to lift her head to look at it. And even longer to get her to even try the cube of Energon.

Cole had to hold it pressed to what she believed to be the sparkling's mouth and it didn't help when all she did was push herself back away. But not one to give up, the former agent kept trying until the sparkling began to at least nibble on a corner.

All the while, the men and Jazz decided to leave Ratchet and Cole to the sparkling's wellbeing and search through the dead bodies of little ones, just in case they had missed another surviving sparkling. And it surprised them all to find at least two more still active but in worse shape than the one Cole was holding. Jazz immediately brought them over to Ratchet to look over and judging by the look on the Autobot CMO's face, it didn't look like they would make it.

Still, not one to give up on lives, Ratchet took the two and carefully set them inside his chest plates so he could begin working on them from within. He informed Nik, when he asked, that he set he two in what would be called an incubator for sparkling repairs. His internal tools would begin working on the excessive injuries immediately so that he could still move around.

After about five minutes, the sparkling in Cole's arms fell into recharge and slowly and carefully joined the other two.

It was right then, something unexpected happened.

Reno, Vladimir, Nik and Epps had found yet another set of large doors and managed to pry them open. They wandered in, leaving Cole and the two Autobots to it with the Sparklings.

Jazz, however, received a message from Optimus that they finally had everything under control with the Department outside.

Most of the Department had fled but there were a few prisoners they had. The Autobots had even managed to keep Nemesis Strika from killing any of them, due to the humans have had scratched her paint job and she did seem pretty pissed about it.

Starscream could be heard in the background of the radio and outside shouting angrily at Skywarp. It was actually kind of hilarious and it had Cole snickering to imagine what the Decepticon Seeker was even doing to his air brother.

"Shit! Ratchet!" Reno yelled from the other room. "You better get in here!"

Hurriedly, Ratchet went over to the other room but could enter because the doors were much smaller. He carefully and very slowly shifted and transformed into his Hummer form quickly informing Cole that the Sparklings were safe inside his back.

Just to make sure, Cole went over and opening his rear doors, with permission of course, though she wouldn't have cared for it. She peered inside and found the sparklings resting on a small slate inside, hooked up to some kind of machine.

A moment later, Ratchet's holoform ducked inside the room where the men were.

Cole refrained herself from going after. She was more concerned about the sparklings than anything right now. She had completely forgot her other objective.

Movement behind her forced her to jerk around, only to see that a group of men were approaching. She immediately took out her gun and pointed at them but at the last minute recognized Optimus and Ultra Magnus' human forms so she relaxed again. It even took a minute to recognize Ironhide's human form. It was due to the fact that they all couldn't come down into the lab without clanging against each other. This lab wasn't big enough for their massive forms.

However, the last man with them she didn't recognize and frowned at him.

He was a dark looking fellow with rusted dark brown hair and very red eyes. They were literately glowing red. He was much taller than Cole was by a few good inches. He wore a dark suit under a white lab jacket with the name tag of Ream Starre on it.

It only took a moment to figure out that this was Starscream's human form.

Cole raised her eyebrows at him, looking him over and he noticed.

"What?" He asked in irritation.

Shrugging, Cole motioned to his form. "So this is what you look like as a human?" She asked in dark amusement. She received an irritated nod and she smirked. "Not bad." She commented.

Starscream smirked back.

Ironhide, however, stared at her with wide eyes while Ultra Magnus and Optimus smirked to their selves, amused by Cole and the Seeker's interactions.

"Cole."

Cole turned towards the door way where the others had been in and found Reno, looking at her grimly. He looked as if someone had just died. Or was close to it. "What?" She asked with an irritated huff.

Slowly, Reno shook his head, still looking grim as the grave and a sinking feeling came over all in the room. They had a very bad feeling they were not going to like what he had to say.

"We found Sean."


	31. Ashes To Ashes

The breath caught in Cole's chest when those words hit her. She hadn't been sure what Reno had meant at first. But then the look he was giving her told her. That look on his face was not only grave.

It was disgust, pain, horrified. But most of all, sad.

And glancing over his shoulder told her exactly where her old partner was.

Sucking in a breath, Cole rushed towards the door, a glimmer of hope and despair echoing throughout her. She rushed forward, not knowing what horrors awaited her on the other side.

Before she could shove past him, Reno caught her arm, stopping her from entering. He did not look at her but stared forward towards the Autobots and Decepticon with a dead look. He couldn't even look at her. But he did murmur those terrible words that made her heart sink.

"I am so sorry."

Staring up at him wide eyes, Cole shoved past him and entered the darkened, cold room. Her eyes found Ratchet and Nik bent over a single operating table with hard ware and machines all around them.

On the table was a form covered in a blood soaked sheet.

Will, Epps, and Vladimir were standing off to the side, watching grimly at what the two medics were doing but judging by the looks on their faces, it wasn't pretty. They looked up when Cole entered but tore their pained gazes away before walking towards the door to leave. Will, however, stopped to meet her gaze for only a moment. He looked on her with a haunted look before tearing them away again as he left.

Cole slowed her pace as she approached Ratchet and Nik, meeting their gaze as they turned to look at her. They both looked grave. "Ratchet?" She murmured. "Is he...?"

Sighing heavily, Ratchet reached up and massaged his nose before he dropped it again. "There is nothing I can do for him. The damage is too great but as far as I can see, it will only be a kindness to just let him go." He said softly before he turned and slowly walked towards her with Nik. Their bodies still blocking her sight of the man on the table.

"He is awake and he is asking for you." Nik added with pain in his voice.

And then the two turned to walk out.

Cole made the mistake of looking over at the man on the table and a painful gasp escaped her. She felt horror grip her for what she saw on the table. She recognized only half of the man she once knew. The other half not so much.

Sean McCourie looked horrible. He was not doubt a product of someone's twisted science project. He once had been very handsome with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, his face clean cut and roguish. But now, half of his face had been cut away, replaced by metal. One of his eyes was a glowing red light and his once proud flippy hair had been completely shaved off. He looked like a mess of hardware now.

His remaining blue eye was open only by a slit. His breathing was labored but it did sound wet as if his throat was coated in liquid.

Seeing Cole, he tried to smile but it was very pained.

"Co-ole..." was his weak words.

Her breathing became hard to let out as she looked him over and she approached his side. She could not believe the monstrosity that had been done to Sean. He was kindest person she knew and now, cruelty had taken him.

"I...must lo-ook horri-ible if yo-you loo-ook at me like th-that." Sean choked out, a very faint laugh in his tone though it ended in a choking gasp.

Cole met his unmatched eyes and quickly shook her head as she forced a smile. "No. You look great." She lied.

Sean laughed painfully before grimacing as pain wracked his body. "Yo-ou were never go-good at lying to me-ee, sug-sugar." He said weakly. "All-always cou-ould tell when you did. I'm...I'm ju-ust sorry you had to see me like thi-this. Bu-ut at least...at least I got to see-ee you one las-last time..."

"Do-Don't talk like that. You will be fine. The doctor who was helping you, he is great from what I hear. A real miracle worker. Remember the kid, Rex? He has a mechanical arm because of the doctor. He will fix you up and..." Cole was saying.

Sean grimaced before raising a shaky hand to stop her. "Co-ole, I already fee-eel it. I am...am slipp-ping away as it...as it is. Bu-ut...I have...I have to te-tell yo-oou fir-first." He told her weakly. And when she didn't speak again, he nodded. "I sa-aw Holl-Hollander...I he-eard him...he was...was speaking to...to someone...one. It was som-someone...with a mech-mechanical voice...a rob-robot..."

Cole stared at him with wide eyes before leaning down a little to hear him better. She wasn't sure but she could have sworn he said that Hollander had talked to a robot. "What?" She asked breathlessly.

Sean weakly nodded. "Department...is a...lie. They...tricked...uh-us. Th-they...are ly-lying...ta-talk to...Rich. he knows...more...than we...tho-thought..." he then frowned, looking past Cole. "Who...?"

Frowning, Cole turned her head and found Starscream and Optimus standing in the door way with Ultra Magnus. They looked grim. They obviously had been watching and listening.

"Who...? Are..." Sean asked painfully.

Cole turned back to her partner, her face falling. She could see the light dying in his eyes. "They're good, Sean. They are good aliens. You were right. The boy was right. The aliens weren't what Hollander was saying." She said softly.

Sean faintly smiled as he looked right at Starscream. "Red...eyes. I thought...those were the bad..." he was saying.

"No. Not all of them. He's...he is good." Cole found herself say softly.

Chuckling softly before grimacing in pain, Sean nodded. "Goo-ood." He looked up at Cole, softly. "Wished...it was me...th-that you..." he didn't finish but shook his head deciding not to. "Co-Cole...do...do not close your...heart. Open...it. I'm sorry...thi-things...cou-couldn't have been...diff-different..."

Cole shook her head before reaching over and taking his hand. "Don't talk, Sean. You need rest. You will be fine...you just...you just need to hold on." She told him, pain in her voice.

"I...am ti-tired of fighting...any more, hon...I can-can't do this any...any more..." Sean said weakly. "You we-were always stron-stronger than I...I was. I...am gl-glad to have known yo-ou..."

"Shhh. Don't talk like that." Cole said, her eyes starting to sting and water.

Carefully giving her hand a light and weak squeeze, Sean shook his head. "It's...ok-okay, Cole...I...will be fine...but you...you be car-careful...and I wish...you the best...with...im...I...I'm...so-ooo ti-tired..." he said weaker than before.

Cole slowly nodded as she fought very hard not to let the tears show. She couldn't show them to him. He never liked seeing women cry. Especially never her. She brought his hand up to her cheek and held it there. "Ok-okay. Then you need to sleep then. Rest." She said in a pained, hushed whisper.

"Goo-ood...nigh-night...Cole-ette..." Sean barely managed to whisper before closing his eyes. He breathed deeply before smiling his roguish smile that Cole was used to. "Th-this is...is...nice. Th...the nice big guy...he...he is...god...he sa-ays...he...has...a...plan...for...em...and...yo-you...Cole..." he whispered before he cut off with a deep breath but didn't exhale again.

In fact, he went very still.

A choke couldn't be held this time but it was quiet as Cole closed her eyes, trying to keep the tears in. She couldn't do this right now. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to feel the pain. She just wanted things to be normal again. She wanted Sean to just pop right back up and laugh and joke with her so she could hit him for scaring her like this.

"Let it go."

Cole lift her head a little but didn't look back at Starscream when he had spoke. She didn't need to. She knew what he was talking about. She just shook her head, refusing to. She didn't want to let it go. That wasn't like her to do that. She couldn't. It wasn't her.

"Let it go." Starscream said again.

Again she shook her head, letting it fall until her hair curtained around her. "N-no..." she choked out.

Starscream huffed behind her but watched her emotionlessly. "Let it go. Now. It will do you no good just keeping it in. Believe me, I know." He said gravely.

This time, Cole obliged. She just couldn't hold it in any more. It just burst like a gate blocking a river. The feelings she was feeling just burst out. She just couldn't. Tears fell while she raised her head and the worse sound escaped her.

"Sean!"

Outside the room, all of the men flinched at the sound made but lowered her head. The Autobots had even cringed but stared everywhere else but towards the room. They knew what had happened just by that terrible sound that Cole had made. They knew that it was finally over. All of the pain and suffering for Sean McCourie was over.

Even the sound could be heard outside where Nemesis Strika, Groundhog, and Skywarp were standing over what Department guards and agents had been left behind after the sudden retreat of the facility. They turned to look at the opening, quite disturbed what they were hearing.

"What the frag was that?" It was the femme to ask.

"It sounds like..." Groundhog was saying.

Skywarp looked directly at Starscream in his jet form before his wings fell and he looked down. "It was one of the humans. The one Starscream was assigned to look after by Prime. Her companion, the one she came to save just deactivated into eternal recharge." He said quite miserably. "Starscream is mad because she's upset."

Both Nemesis Strika and Groundhog looked at each other, surprised by what he said.

It was not long later that police and special ops were called to search the labs with the soldiers. The Cybertronians mostly just sat innocently back away from the humans, allowing them to search the facility for any more Department workers.

So far, there were not many.

They didn't even find Hollander as they had hoped. But they had found a recording of his work being done on the Sparklings and even Sean. Ratchet asked that it wasn't shown to Cole, since she was too upset at Sean's death as it was.

So far everything they found on the Department was mostly just experiments. Some documents were useful but most were not. A lot of information had been purged from the computers and destroyed. But there was something that had caught their attention. The papers and pictures that Simmons had found had certain key words that may have pointed out another facility that they were going to look into when they got back to the base.

Once dawn hit Kansas, the convoy of Cybertronians and humans were heading back to Arizona. But this time, they were bringing things back with them.

Returning to the base was not fun, however.

Most of the Autobots and humans were there to greet the teams, excited to learn what they had found. But their excitement was cut pretty short when the teams arrived. They couldn't wait to know what the teams had found about the Department and bringing back the Sparklings and the totally awesome human that Rex Rory was constantly talking about. They had laughed to see and hear how excited the teenager was. He was so excited to see Agent Sean again; the man who had saved his life by sparing him from the horrors of the Department. Everyone were somewhat excited to meet this man. So they waited in the main hangar for the team's return.

Optimus was in the lead, of course, with Ultra Magnus behind him and then the others. Behind both of them were small trailers with three large wooden boxes sitting on them. On Ironhide's bed was a smaller black coffin that had everyone staring at it with wide eyes.

Keller hadn't noticed it right away as he hurried to greet Optimus's human form. "Hey, Optimus. How did it go? Did you find anything?" He asked.

Sighing heavily was the sign that Keller wasn't looking for but Optimus shook his head. "I am afraid the mission did not go so well, John." He told him, gravely.

Heart clenching, Keller eyed the wooden boxes with a serious look before looking at the coffin that Will, Epps, Vladimir and Nik were carefully pulling off of Ironhide. He didn't see Cole just yet since she was sitting inside Ultra Magnus' cab. So he feared the worse about his daughter. "Who died?" The SecDef asked, worry in his tone as he quickly looked for her. He relaxed when he saw her climbing down from the large red Autobot Commander.

"Agent Sean." Optimus said quietly making Keller look at him in surprise.

"Hey!"

Heads turned to see the teens and young Autobots approaching, all looking excited. It had been Rex who called out as he approached Cole and Magnus' human form.

"Hi, Cole! Did you find the sparklings? How many are there? What are they like? What about Agent Sean? Is he okay? Where...?" The excited boy was asking.

But Ultra Magnus caught him by the shoulder, pulling him back from Cole. He shook his head when Rex looked up at him, knowing fully well that right at the moment, it was best to leave Cole alone. "Rex, not now." He said softly.

"But..." Rex started to say.

Cole turned away from him, her face falling in despair before she hurriedly walked away towards the doors leading to the barracks. She paused when she saw Keller slowly walking up to her. But she shook her head, raising her hand to halt whatever he was about to say. "Please, not now. I just want to be left alone." She said quietly before walking way.

Everyone watched her go, confused. No one understood just yet. Rex turned back to Magnus, his heart falling. "What happened, Magnus?" He asked dread already settling in.

Sam, Mikaela, Anya, Elena and Dawn even looked at him with inquiring looks. They had noticed the large boxes and wondered what was in them.

"Where is Agent Sean?" Rex asked cautiously.

Sighing, Ultra Magnus pointed over at the coffin that the soldiers were carefully setting down. His eyes were down cast, not wanting to see Rex's reaction. But he knew fairly well what it was when the boy sucked in a horrified breath.

"We were too late to save him and the sparklings. Only two sparklings live at the moment." Optimus explained to Keller and the others, grave as death. None of the humans or Autobots looked happy whatsoever. "There were three but one deactivated on the way here. One of the two doesn't look like it will make it either. But Ratchet won't give up on it. He will do all he can to save the remaining two sparklings."

Keller sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. This was not happy news at all. Not only did a human die because of the Department, but baby Cybertronians. Not to mention, the body of an Autobot was being brought in soon. One that a lot of the Autobots were not going to be happy about.

"Do we have any more information on Department members?" The SecDef asked looking over at Maggie.

Maggie slowly nodded. "Yeah. Because Teletraan was fixed, we managed to piece together some of the profiles on the files. We currently have a hundred and twelve names. Nothing on this Doctor Hollander, though. I can't even find a first name for him either." She told him.

Keller nodded, a serious look on his face. He figured it was time to take a step he probably shouldn't take. "Send pictures and names to the media and America's Most Wanted. I want reports on them on the news and a hot line number set up. Anyone who knows any of these people should call in with the information and whereabouts." He stated.

Everyone stared at him in surprise. They weren't sure where he was going with this.

"Uh..." Maggie murmured in confusion.

Keller rolled his eyes before shaking his head. "Who better to find a handful of Department Agents than the rest of America? Someone is bound to notice one of them wandering around or even know who they are. I want these people found and now. They have done enough damage to people as it is. Not to mention, a good man and several infants, alien or not, were murdered because of them. It is time to end this once and for all." He said sternly.

It couldn't be helped that everyone smiled faintly for two reasons. They knew he had a point. The Department did need to be stopped. And they had done a great number on his daughter.

"I'll get right on it, sir." Maggie said with a smirk and walked off.

Optimus shook his head as he turned back to Keller, looking serious. "Simmons has information that still need to be looked at. There were many documents that were taken from the Department and he wants to show them to us right away." He told him.

"Actually that won't be necessary, Prime."

Faces fell at the voice that spoke up. Everyone turned to see Galloway was walking over, giving all of the Autobots and Decepticons dark looks and having them returned.

But ignoring them, Galloway walked right up, his head held high. "We won't trouble you to search the documents, Prime. You have too many things to worry about right now so I will have a specialized team be looking over the documents. If there is anything important in them, then you will be informed. So I will be taking everything you found right now. That includes the dead robots you brought back. They need to be disposed of right away so we won't have any un necessary objects taking up space.

There were out raged cries within the room as everyone glared at him. They couldn't believe him. He was interfering with their search. Not to mention, they knew fairly well that that he just wanted to disrespect the fallen Autobot, Lugnut and the Sparklings.

Optimus, however, shook his head as he remained calm but stern. "I am sorry, Liaison Galloway, but I must decline your offer. The information that Simmons has brought back is very delicate and needs to be addressed by one of our own. As for the Sparklings and Lugnut, we will be preparing a Deactivation Ceremony for them which is similar to your funerals. So that won't..." he was saying.

"That wasn't a request, Prime! I will be taking them now." Galloway said coldly.

Everyone growled or glared hard at him, not amused. They were sure getting tired of him and his attitude towards th Autobots.

"Prime Everyone looked over to Nemesis Strika as she stood next to Ultra Magnus, glaring at the human. "Permission to squish an insect?"

Galloway choked and stumbled back with fear.

Optimus hid his amusement very well with a stern look and shook his head. "Denied. I can handle this, Nemesis Strika." He then looked firmly at Galloway, who looked shaken up. "Liaison Galloway, do you have orders from The President to take the Department documents and our fallen?"

Glaring up at him, Galloway pointed a finger at him. "I will have those..." he was saying.

"If you do not have written orders from the President then you will not be taking them." Optimus interrupted firmly, not relenting at all. He gave the Liaison a warning look when he tried to argue. "Liaison Galloway, do not make me have to escort you off base. I am fully aware of your position of the Government but this is the Autobot Human Base. If you wear out your welcome here, I will request the President of your removal of Liaison for Autobot Human relations." He stated sternly.

"You cannot do that!" Galloway snapped snobbishly.

Keller coughed once to get his attention and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Actually, he can, Galloway. If you cause problems for the Autobots and the operation we have with them, he can ask for your replacement. And right now, you are causing problems." He held up a hand and gave him a very stern look when the Liaison tried to argue again. "Theodore, that is enough! I am very tempted of firing you right now as it is! And as you know, I CAN do that! Now you will back off! The Department documents stays right where it is at! In the custody of the Autobots! If you try to abuse your power of Liaison one more time, you will be fired! Do I make myself clear?"

There was a tense silence between the two human men before Liaison Galloway straightened, fixing his composure. "Very well, sir. I apologize." And with that, he marched away with a ramrod straight back.

Again, a pause.

Then Keller looked up at Hound, who was watching with everyone else. "Hound, will you find a background check on Theodore Galloway? I do not like where this is going. I want to know where he was before he became Liaison for the Autobot Human Relations." He requested.

Hound frowned but nodded as he started towards the Intelligence Research center. "On it." He stated and was gone.

Optimus looked at Keller frowning. "You do not trust Galloway?" He asked cautiously.

"As far as I can throw him." Keller stated coldly. He looked back at the Prime, seriously. "From what you told me about the mission, the reason you did not find Hollander was probably because we may have a spy on the base. It sounds like the Department was actually warned that you were coming. Which is why the Sparklings were killed before you got there. And why Sean McCourie was killed the way he was."

That was a serious accusation that no one was going to take lightly. Especially when it could have been true.

"As of now, I want Galloway carefully watched as well a few others." Keller stated, looking at everyone around him. "But for now, get some rest. In two days, we have funerals to plan. For your friend, for Sean McCourie and the Sparkling. They deserve that respect and no one is going to ruin it for them or you or my daughter."

Optimus and the other Cybertronians looked gratefully at him for that.

For the next two days, things had been quiet for everyone. Even for the Decepticons, though Starscream was still steamed about Skywarp disobeying orders. He refused to talk to his trinemate and that seemed enough punishment as it was. Skywarp could be seen moping around.

There wasn't much interactions with Cole, however. She mostly stayed in her room, grieving over her lost partner and friend. She hardly talked to anyone, even her parents when they tried to talk to her about what had happened. She did get a few words out but not much. The most she ever said was a few things about the planned funerals for the fallen infants and warriors; human and Autobot.

The day of the funerals for Sean, the Sparklings and the Autobot named Lugnut, something would happen that no one would forget for the rest of their lives, or even for the rest of their very existence.

The day God spoke.


	32. Words Of A God

The day was quite beautiful for a sad day.

The sun had decided to shine clearly and the sky was clear of most clouds. The only clouds that could be seen was silver white and puffy like white cotton candy. It was rather warm, yet a gentle breeze blew away the heat of Arizona.

However, no one would be enjoying this day.

The funeral services were going to be held at the base to avoid any un-necessary distractions of the media that were still demanding the attention from the Cybertronians. Everyone wanted to know who and every alien robot were and shown them off to the world.

Everyone in the base was filing into the large main hangar where the reception viewing would be held.

It had come as a surprise when the Autobots and Decepticons that were on their community service missions had come back for the sad event but not alone. None of them had come alone.

The two police cruisers and the massive the Mobile Command vehicle had brought the humans they were working with in Las Vegas with them and it did not see, their partnerships were strained whatsoever.

Especially Barricade.

It came as a surprise that he was actually quite...fond of the family of three he had brought with him. The LV police officer, Kris Hepherr and her two teenage kids, Kylee and Jake seemed just as fond of him.

Something had happened in Las Vegas between the family and the Decepticon Warrior and it did make everyone wonder. But so far, Barricade wasn't telling just yet.

As for Prowl's human partner, Steven Perry, he was just the same with the Autobot Second In Command. He spoke easily with him and even teased him a little and surprisingly to everyone, Prowl actually laughed softly at whatever he said.

Even Soundwave seemed to speak to his human partner, Greg Butte easily and that caused all of the other Decepticons to stare at the huge warrior with suspicion and shock. Especially, when the former Third Command of the Decepticons chuckled at the sight of Greg being teased by Epps about his name.

It was a shock to Starscream and the others because Soundwave certainly had never even chortled a sound like that before.

"When this is over," Starscream told the other two Decepticons suspiciously. "I want reports. Full details."

"Affirmative." Was Soundwave's monotonous reply.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Barricade said, waving a hand at him.

As it was, Prowl and the Decepticons were not the only ones to have brought unexpected guests with them.

Inferno had brought his human partner from Phoenix as well. Though Tomas had taken to Cheetor and Quick Change pretty well because they all seemed to have the same temperament.

Even the four Autobot Bikes had brought someone back with them, though to see a pair of rough looking young adults like Joe Ferreira and Marcie Twitchelle, was unusual. The funniest part that everyone learned about was who they were. Joe was the female and Marcie was the male of them.

Joe revealed to the other humans when they were introduced that her name was actually Johanna but she hated her name so she had shortened it to Joe. She was probably in her early twenties just like Sam and the other young ones. She had long black hair with quite a few pink high lights everywhere and cool leaf green eyes. She was an average build, a little larger body build than Mikaela, Dawn, and Elena.

Marcie, or Twitch as he preferred to be called, was in his later twenties. His full name was actually Marchello and he revealed that he was originally from Italy. So it was kind of obvious by the way he looked. He had a shaggy cut hair style though the back stood up in gelled spikes. His eyes were a dark blue color, which seemed not too normal for a human. He, like Joe, wore a biker jacket but for the day like this, nice black clothes.

The funeral reception was starting to fill the seats with everyone wearing all black. The Autobots were standing near the walls tall and stiff like the soldiers in front of them.

At the front, on a platform sat the Autobot, Lugnut surrounded by the many sparklings.

And in front of them was the black coffin holding Sean McCourie.

There were many beautiful flowers all over the room and on the deceased. A picture of Sean McCourie sat next to the sleek black box while a hologram of the live Lugnut sat on the other side. It was a beautiful sight for such a sad day. There was a gentle song playing with courtesy of Jazz and Blaster, whom both looked pretty spark broken as they gazed at Lugnut, along with the other Autobots.

Everyone was finally sitting down and waiting for the reception to start. They were still waiting on one person, not wanting to start without her.

The Decepticons stood in the far back, not wanting to be a bother. It surprised everyone to see that they were pretty solemn about an Autobot funeral. They were actually being respectful.

Finally, Cole arrived.

Everyone went quiet when she entered the room, all eyes going to her. She had frozen in the door way at the sight before her but then tore her eyes away and walked forward until she found a vacant seat at the front. She found her eyes lift and her head turn to the back to see those burning red eyes watching her. She stared back at him for a moment before looking forward again.

Slowly died as the reverend, an American Soldier who once had been a bishop in a church stood at a podium to start giving the dreadful talk.

"We gathered here, together to grieve the loss of amazing people..."

And it went on. But Cole wasn't listening. She barely even heard what he was saying about the fallen. She knew it would short, however. No one but her and the Autobots knew the fallen. She knew Sean. They knew Lugnut. No one knew the Sparklings. No one ever got the chance to know them.

It stung badly.

Words went on about how the deceased was in a better place and wouldn't feel pain or suffering. They were with their God and everyone they had cared about them before they too had fallen.

It was the word God that made Cole scoff rather loudly, interrupting the Soldier bishop's words and made quite a few glance at her. But the bishop kept talking. He went on as if nothing happened.

The talk finally seemed to come to an end and the bishop called for those to speak on the behalf of the deceased.

At first, no one stood up but just sat there.

Cole could feel eyes on her. She knew people were expecting her to stand up and go share a story about Sean. She wasn't going to do it. She wasn't going to stand up and share some story that she wanted to keep to herself. She felt like being selfish with this.

Bit then someone walked past her and she heard a few murmurs. She didn't even look up to see who it was. She just stared at the ground, emotionless.

"Hey, everyone." A woman spoke up, someone that Cole didn't know. "I know a lot of you don't know me at all. But I'm Kris Hepherr. I'm Barricade's partner in Las Vegas."

Frowning, Cole looked up at the woman, wondering why she even stood up to talk about Sean when she didn't know him.

But the answer was a lot different than she would have realized.

Kris took a deep breath and leaned against the podium. "You're probably wondering why I am even here." She stated. 'Duh.' Cole added sarcastically within her mind. "Where I come from, there is a lot of crime going on. I grew up in Las Vegas in a foster home, due to my parents being into drug operations, I was taken away and put into a foster home. When I got there, age 14 and loved getting into trouble, I didn't think I would fit in with my foster family. The McCourie's."

Cole's eyes widened and she sat up abruptly. She felt as if someone had just poked her with a taser.

Kris seemed to have noticed because she smiled. "Sean McCourie was my foster brother. So I did know him very well. We grew up together for a few years. When I first met him, he was such a freak. He was the most friendliest person I ever met, always grinning about something, even when he was mad. He met me and tried to make me feel welcomed but I didn't want to be. I did everything I could to make him and his parents hate me like my real parents. But..." she laughed softly. "It never worked. At least with Sean. When I got into trouble, he took the blame. He protected me from bullies, his own parents when they got mad at me. He was the brother I always wanted and needed. Whenever I got scared at night, he would sing me to sleep. He had such a nice voice. He could talk anyone into anything. He even talked me out of committing suicide once when times got really tough. So he saved my life.

"When we were older, he and I entered the police academy. So he was a cop a long time ago. He and I worked the streets as such for a whole year. Before he got an internship with the Government. He was leaving me to be an agent for the government. I hated him for that. I even told him that and it was the last thing I ever said to him." Kris spoke with regret. "Anyway, the last time I ever heard about him was he was killed in action. Seven years ago, maybe eight. So I thought he was dead."

'When he joined the Department.' Cole realized silently.

Kris shook her head, sighing heavily. She lift her head and looked to the back towards Barricade, who lift his head higher. "Two days ago, Barricade said he, Soundwave and Prowl were leaving for a few days to come to some funeral for an Autobot, baby robots and a human named Sean McCourie." Her face fell a little. "I fell to the ground out of shock, freaking him out pretty bad. He thought I malfunctioned in a bad way. I did. But after that, I asked him if me and my kids could join him. So here I am." She paused, looking down at the picture of Sean.

"Sean was a great man in many ways. He was a friend, he was a brother, hell. He could have been a great father if given the chance. My only regret is that I never told him sorry for what I said and that he never got to meet my kids; his niece and nephew." Kris sighed heavily, tears in her eyes. "He would have loved them." She smirked again, looking back at Barricade, who narrowed his eyes at her. "I know that because he won't admit it, but Barricade does."

There were a few chokes as heads whipped around and looked at the black and white Decepticon, who glowered at Kris.

Starscream glanced at him, darkly amused. "I want full details later in your report." He murmured to the warrior."

"Ah, shut up." Barricade groaned, but he wasn't denying it, much to many's amusement.

Kris took a deep breath and shrugged. "Anyway, Sean was great person and everyone loved him for his optimism, his smile, his personality. And he will be sorely missed by my family. And more." She finished and walked down.

There was a silence of respect before Rex finally stood up and made his way to the podium. There were tears in his eyes, but a faint smile on his face. "I'm Rex Rory and most knows how I met Agent Sean McCourie. He saved my life from the very people he was working for. He didn't have to, but he did. He said it was the right choice." He shrugged his face quite down with sadness. "I don't know about that. Because of what he and Cole did, they were targeted as traitors. Hunted down because of what they did for me and my best friend. Because of me, they had to run for their lives. And now...it's over for Sean. And that isn't fair. He didn't deserve that. He deserved to live. He deserves to be here, fighting with us." His voice cracked with heavy emotion as his tears began to fall heavy. He tried to speak again but it came out as a sob. "I...just do-don't want to lose any more people I care about. Sea-Sean was one of them, even if I didn't know him." He said before looking up when heavy feet approached.

Ultra Magnus had carefully pushed past his fellow Autobots and went to the front, offering his hand to the teenager, who clambered up and hugged one of his fingers, sobbing.

The large Autobot looked around at everyone as he brought his young ward to his chest and held him in comfort. "I met Agent Sean only once. And that enough for me to know he was a very good man. He saved my boy's life and mine. My only big regret is that I could have not saved him in time. But if I can figure out one thing about Sean, he won't want any of us to remain grieving like this. He was too...cheerful for such negativity. We will never forget him, or Lugnut, who was an interesting fellow all on his own. Now he was an Autobot, you'd love to have around."

A few Autobots chuckled faintly at their own memories.

"Yeah, he was fun. A nutball but a lot of fun." It was Sideswipe who spoke up as he held Dawn close to his chassis. She was frowning slightly and scratching at an itch where the strange marking was on her back.

No one really noticed her or Sam, who was grimacing and rubbing at his temple as if he was getting a headache.

"You're right." Came the strained voice of Cole as she stood up and made her way up to the podium. She faced everyone, eyes slightly red from holding in the tears she refused to cry in front of everyone.

Taking a deep breath, Cole looked at the picture of her partner. "I didn't love Sean like how he loved me. But I did love him enough to call him my friend. Anyone who knows anything about me, they know that is something very hard to achieve. Especially when you're a man." She looked around with a solemn look. "I have huge trust issues because I was blaming all of the wrong people for things they couldn't control. For what I couldn't control.

"Sean was the one who recruited me into the Department and I know later he regretted it. He was my partner because he was the only one I could have patience for. Because he was patient. He knew how to control my temper and he knew how to talk me out of shooting people." Cole spoke, her eyes dropping lower. "He was my friend and my only friend. He took care of me while we were running from the Department. He allowed me to lash out at him when I was extremely annoyed and scared and angry. He took it all with that stupid grin of his." And for the first time in days, if not years, she laughed weakly, tears spilling down her cheeks. She even heard a few chuckle along with her.

Sighing heavily, Cole looked up, her eyes hardening as a thought came to her. "Sean would scold me for many things right now. One, because I am crying. He hated it when I cried. Two, because I am ignoring him by keeping my heart closed. And last," her tone grew cool. "I swear to God and on my own life, I am going to find the one who did this to him, and I am going to kill him." She finished before she went around the podium, ignoring the uneasy looks she got. She just walked right up to the black coffin, standing stiff and tall. She sharply saluted her partner before turning and marching out.

It was silent for a long moment before the bishop soldier stood and went up to the front. "We will now have the last viewing of the beloved fallen. Any who wishes to grant their last respects, please do so now." He stated.

Slowly, everyone started to stand to move forward to form a line. Most of the humans were going first for Sean, just to be respectful while the Autobots would do it from where they stood for Lugnut and Sean.

And that was when Dawn and Sam both jumped and cried out as if in pain before dropping to the ground.

"Dawn!" Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and the Boyds cried.

"Sam!" Mikaela and Judy screamed as they dropped beside the young man.

Ratchet swore as he maneuvered over and around people as they jumped up in alarm. He quickly stepped over to Dawn first before nodding his thanks to Groundhog as he rushed over to Sam. "Move, everyone! Let me see what has happened!" He quickly said.

Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and the Boyds moved back, fear and alarm showing greatly. "What happened, Ratchet? What's wrong with Dawn!" The silver Autobot asked in fear.

Ignoring him for now, Ratchet quickly scanned Dawn before frowning. He looked down at Eliza. "Eliza, move Dawn onto her stomach and push up her shirt! I need to see her marking!" He quickly said.

Eliza nodded before quickly handing Delia to Nik. She bent down beside Dawn and carefully turned her over and pushed up her shirt.

Surprisingly, the Cybertronian marking was glowing a faint golden color.

"What the frag?" Sunstreaker yelped.

"Ratchet! A marking has appeared on Sam!" Groundhog called over in alarm.

Everyone yelped in surprise while Ratchet hurried over to see, with Jetfire right behind him. There was a black marking appearing on Sam's arm. It was different from what Dawn's. The Autobot CMO quickly looked to Jetfire, who was frowning. "Jetfire?" He asked cautiously, allowing Optimus to peer down at Sam.

Jetfire shook his head, his red glare narrowing in confusion but suspicion. "It means Navigator and Knowledge in Ancient Cybertronian. But I don't understand. Why Sam and why now? And what happened? They're both unconscious but...what caused it?" He asked frowning deeply.

"That is the question of the day, isn't it?" Optimus asked with a sigh.

It was pure white that blinded Dawn even with her eyes closed. She squinted without opening them before raising a very heavy hand to shield herself from the offending light. It didn't work too well.

Groaning, Dawn pried her eyes open and tried to look around. She didn't have a clue what just happened. All she knew was all day her strange Cybertronian marking had been itching until it starting burning. Then everything went blinding white.

A gasp found its way out of her as she jolted up and looked around. She did not know this place at all.

There was a silver mist rolling around strange looking points all around her. The strangely open sky shown a brilliant golden hue and that was where the brightness was coming from. This place...it looked almost...alien.

A groan caused Dawn's head to whip around and she felt her breath catch when she saw Sam. He had been lying on his stomach, swamped by the strange silver mist so she hadn't even seen him.

"Sam!" Dawn cried before hurrying to crawl to his side. She bent beside him, helping him sit up. "Sam, are you okay?"

Sam groaned as he rubbed his head before looking over at her. "Dawn? What happened? Was it an attack?" He looked around before his eyes snapped open wide and his breath caught in his throat. He looked around with shock before getting to his feet with Dawn. "What the...where are we?" He yelped.

Dawn shook her head, looking around with uneasiness. "I don't know! All I remember is my back started to burn and I cried out and then it went dark...er, actually white!" She told him, anxiety starting to take over her tone. "Sam, did we die?"

Looking wide eyed at her, Sam looked surprised she had even said that. But glancing around, he could see why she would think that. This place was hauntingly beautiful. Almost like...a paradise. Even as strange as it was, there these strange looking blue and white balls starting to float around them, moving like fire flies. They seemed curious of the two new arrivals and wandered over to observe them before dashing away again.

"Oh my Primus...where the hell are we? We...must have died and gone to heaven!" Sam cried out.

Dawn's breathe became unstable while her heart started pounding hard in her chest. She couldn't have died! How did it happen? What happened to Sides and the others?

"Sides!" She cried painfully before falling to her knees. "Oh, Primus! Sides, I am so sorry! This must be killing him! I died and...!"

"What about me? What about Mikaela?" Sam cried incredulous and in fear. He couldn't imagine what it was doing to his beautiful girlfriend or his parents. Or even to Bumblebee!

"Will you two calm down? You're not dead." Someone said with amusement.

Jumping at the sound of a voice, Sam and Dawn whirled around, clutching each other in fear as they saw a strange man standing against a seven foot...metal spiked rock? He was wearing white dress pants with a gray vest over a silver white long sleeve shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He was quite handsome with golden blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes watching them with amusement. He had a roguish smile...

Sam and Dawn gaped in shock as they recognized the man. They couldn't believe this! This guy was dead! So that must mean they were!

"Oh, my god! We are dead! We died and went to heaven!" Sam yelped and Dawn choked on a sob as she covered her mouth.

The man they recognized as Sean McCourie grimaced before pushing off the rock and walked over, hands raised. "Hey, hey, hey. Don't do that, sweetspark. I don't like tears and neither does he. He hates seeing someone crying." He told her gently.

Dawn sniffed while wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Bu-but...how did we die...?" She was saying.

Sean smiled softly before shaking his head and folding his arms. "I said, you didn't die. You both are still very much alive. So don't worry so much. You're just...well, kind of having an out of body experience. It is because he wanted a word with you. So he called for your souls to the...um...I guess you can say it's heaven, other world..." he grimaced and turned around looking around the large seven foot spike. "Hey, God! What do you call this place again?" He called.

Sam and Dawn's eyes snapped wide open before they carefully stepped past Sean to peer around the spike. They caught their breath when they saw Him.

Sitting with his back to them in a spinning chair the size of a one story house was a huge being made out of metal. He was massive in size, much bigger than Optimus and Ultra Magnus put together. He had huge arms resting against his wide body frame while huge hands were clicking at what looked like a huge computer keyboard. His frame and armor was the shiniest silver the two humans had ever seen. On his arms and shoulders were several points, like spikes. Or weapons, anyhow.

He was quite intimidating but...there was just a feeling of peace rolling off of him. It was like he was completely made out of it.

But what made it stranger, Dawn and Sam could see right through him. As if he was a ghost.

"What the...?" Sam murmured staring wide eyes.

There was a heavy sigh before the huge Transformer dropped his massive hands and spun the chair around. He had a light scowl on his metal face but there was amusement in his golden optics. They were literately glowing with gold color. But they were quite gentle and kind looking as they fell onto the two humans.

"I told you five times, Sean." He spoke with a powerful, deep but gentle rumble. "It is the astral plane, a spiritual world between life and death. And do not call me that." He slowly stood to a near neck breaking height. "Hmm. I guess I rather am large." He told a step forward and there was a silver flash. "Better?"

Sam and Dawn gaped at the being before them, who was now their height. He had gone from being nearly seventy feet tall to seven feet tall.

"How...?...Who...!...What...?" Both young humans tried to say.

Smiling warmly, the Transformer tilted his head to the side in an innocent way. "Welcome to my realm, Samuel James Witwicky and Dawn Jade Adams. Please forgive me with the disturbing summoning but it was necessary. I have been watching what has been happening lately and am quite disturbed by what is happening out there. Especially with the interference my brother constantly keeps doing. You would think a whole era of banishment in a dark galaxy would have taught him something by now but no, he keeps it up. Not to mention the ridiculous war my children started is getting out of servos." He said with a heavy sigh.

"Uh..." Dawn murmured just as confused as Sam was.

Sean chuckled as he glanced side wards at the metal being next to him, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, P. The kids are confused." He looked back at Sam and Dawn, shrugging. "Take a crack guess of who this is." He said grinning. "Give ya a hint. It starts with a P."

Sam and Dawn stared, still completely confused. They weren't getting it. They didn't understand.

But then Sam thought about what this strange mech just said. He had said something about a realm, and Sean had called him God, and he had said something about his children. His breath caught in his chest and he stumbled back away from Dawn, Sean and...

"Primus..."

Sean grinned cockily and winked. "Spot on." He said chuckling.

Dawn's eyes widened as it hit her and she shrank back in alarm. She couldn't believe it. She and Sam were meeting a Cybertronian God. "Primus..." she breathed in realization. "You're Primus?"

The mech smiled warmly before he dipped low into a sweeping bow and swept his hand to the side. "Primus, Lord of Light and Life." He finally introduced himself to them before standing up fully again. "And you are Dawn of the Age and Sam, a great new Leader. Both of you are exactly how I envisioned you. As well as Rex is to be, though he can use a little shapening up. And Elena, too. Not to mention Cole could use a little more of a push in the right direction. She is treading a very dangerous road, however." He said more absent minded.

Sam waved his hands into the air. "Whoa, whoa! How do you know about us? What do you mean Dawn of the New Age and me being a new Leader? And what about Rex, Elena, and Cole?" He asked weirded out.

Primus grimaced before turning away and looking at the colossal computer system he had been working on. "Unfortunately, I am getting a little ahead of myself. I cannot reveal too much. But it is what I get for being in exile of the astral plane for so long." He turned back, looking serious, and it wasn't exactly a pleasant look. "Let us start with why I summoned your souls here." He stated. "I need you to deliver a message to my children for me."

"You mean the Autobots, right?" Sam asked frowning.

Sighing impatiently, Primus rubbed the side of his head and shook it. "I mean all of them. My chosen Leader to carry on my name, Optimus Prime and the New High Lord Protector, Screamer of the Stars, Starscream." He looked serious again. "The war must end. Now. It should have never began in the first place but I am afraid that was the doing of my brother, the Lord of Darkness and Death. Unicron. He poisoned my child, Megatron's mind and Spark with whispers of false promises just to get back at me. Doing so has harmed the future I tried shaping for all of my children."

"Future of the Autobots and Decepticons, right?" Dawn asked.

Primus sighed but shook his head. "The different fractions are stupid. My children were foolish to take sides and fight in this ridiculous war, destroying all that they were meant to be protecting." And he smiled faintly when both young humans gave him questioning looks. He motioned to them. "The future of Life, of course. I created my children to protect life. Not fight against each other and hope to destroy one another." He shrugged again. "I brought you both here because you both hold the pure essence of my making. All Spark energy. It is not like how you may think. Sam, you used the All Spark to destroy Megatron the first time."

Sam winced, thinking he was in trouble. "Yeah, sorry about that." He said, grimacing.

Primus shook his head, tilting his head to the side. "No, actually that was my intentions at the time. Who do you think gave you the idea in the first place?" He received a bewildered look from the human. But he shrugged it off. "There was a poison inside of Megatron, a nasty virus, if you will that Unicron used on him to cause the entire war that destroyed my children's future on their own world.

"Using the All Spark as a weapon, you purged the virus out of Megatron and freed his Spark from Unicron's grasp. However, I did not count on Unicron grabbing a hold of his Spark again before I could catch it." Primus explained. "Thus, the poisoning began again and Galvatron has been created. Deep down inside of him, Megatron still is alive but locked away in a prison by the personality known s Galvatron. I cannot reach him because of Unicron. He is blocking my every move to freeing him. So I have no choice but to choose a new High Lord Protector. And that is to be Starscream, since he wants the mantle of Leadership so badly.

"As it is, he would have never been my choice in the beginning. But he did change my mind pretty quickly when he did something to alter the future I had planned out for my children." Primus stated with a chuckle.

"What did he do?" Dawn asked frowning.

Primus smiled faintly. "He did something I did not think he would do. He chose to block out the poisoned words that Unicron was speaking through Megatron. Why do you think he has been trying to kill Megatron all of these years? Hmm? Because unknowingly, he saw right past Megatron and saw Unicron all along. He knew something was wrong with Megatron when he ordered the destruction of the Sparklings on Cybertron." He explained. "It did help a lot for my decision when he chose to look past his ridiculous title as Decepticon to befriend an Autobot. Unfortunately, he had fallen in love with my little Spitfire. That I did not intend. So I had no choice but to intervene and do something a little drastic."

Frowning Sam eyed him. "What did you do?" He asked, sharing a glance with Dawn.

Primus shook his head. "Unfortunately, I cannot speak of it. It would mean giving too much away as it is. Instead, I better get back to why I summoned you here." He turned his golden eyes onto Sam. "Sam, you used the All Spark to save my chosen's life as well as your world. When you did so, a piece of the All Spark energy transferred to you, granting you knowledge of Cybertron. You do not realize it because it is slowly imprinting upon your mind with that knowledge. If it would have just got it over with, you would have lost your mind much like what happened with your grandfather.

"Dawn, the remaining All Spark shard was used to purge unstable Energon out of you, transforming it into a suitable source for you to live. That is why I marked you with Life. The power you hold is temporary but it is a power you can use without too much consequences. My children do not understand that power just yet." Primus explained.

Dawn frowned but slowly nodded. "So what am I suppose to do with it?" She asked cautiously.

Primus looked her right into the eyes, serious. "Use it. It has its uses for numerous things. If not to give life back to my children, but to bring them out of stasis lock." He said firmly.

Again, Sam and Dawn stared at him, bewildered. They weren't sure where he was going with this.

"Uh..." Dawn murmured dumbly.

Sean chuckled as he shook his head as he folded his arms and leaned against the rock. "You will know what he is talking about when you wake up." He told them.

"Wait. Give life back? Does that mean she can use it on you then, Sean? Or the sparklings?" Sam asked with some excitement.

Both Primus and Sean looked passive at that but the former agent shook his head. "Even if you could, I wouldn't come back. I have had enough of living in that world." He said with a sigh. "Believe me, I love Cole. I really do. But...she isn't to be for me. I know she is hurting right now. But she has to get over my death. The path of vengeance isn't right. What is coming to Hollander will come. But not by her. She has a lot to worry about right now. That sparkling, for one." He told them.

Dawn bit her lip as she thought about what she wanted to ask. "What about the sparklings?" She asked.

Primus smiled softly at her but shook his head. "Don't waste your energy on them. It will be fine. I have already ensured the future for my children. The last two sparklings, however, do not worry about them. You must let Ratchet and Groundhog worry about them. All you worry about is what is to come." He looked to Sam. "Sam, as I said, you have been granted knowledge of Cybertron. So you will be able read Ancient Cybertronian. Use it on the information that was gathered in this last mission. And show the pictures to Optimus and Elita. They don't realize who that is. But they will. And you will need him. So find him before it is too late."

Sam slowly nodded as he took the information in. He and Dawn understood what he was getting at. And they would do what he asked.

"Welp, time to go back. I think we freaked everyone out enough." Sean said waving at the two. "Before you go, when you get back, tell Cole to remember what I last said to her. And tell her that she needs to forget revenge. It won't do her any good. She just needs to worry about her new kid and listen to her heart."

Again the two nodded.

Primus smiled before waving a hand and mist began to swirl around Sam and Dawn. "Good luck, my young friends. And keep brave. No matter what happens next, you must be brave."

Something hit Dawn as she felt herself being pulled back from the God and Sean. She had one more thing to ask. "Wait! Primus, the Cybertronian Legend about another being becoming a Cybertronian! Is it true? Can I become one?" She called.

The only answer she got was a smile and a wave from Primus and Sean.

"Dawn! Sam! Wake up!"

Two groans were the answers that everyone got as the two squinted in the bright light. They managed to pry their eyes open before seeing the many eyes looking down at them.

Gasping, Dawn sat up, her head swirling. She groaned again as she started to fall back again but a hand steadied her.

"Dawn, are you all right?" She heard Ratchet.

Dawn opened her eyes and looked up at him before looking over at Sam as he sat up. She felt confused for a second before it hit her of what happened. "Sam," she said, her breath catching. She met his eyes, which slowly widened. "Did it really happen?"

"Did what happen?" Sideswipe asked just as confused as everyone.

Sam glanced at everyone around before looking back at Dawn. He slowly nodded. "I think it did." He turned his eyes towards the front to where the Autobot still laid. "Go try it out." He said.

Smiling faintly Dawn nodded and looked directly towards Lugnut, determination set on her face. She began moving towards the fallen Autobot, only to stop by Ratchet's hand. "Ratchet, scan Lugnut again." She said quickly.

Ratchet frowned at her, bewildered. "What? He is deactivated, Dawn. I had already checked him several times. Now tell us, what happened? What are you talking about?" He asked.

Sharing a glance with Sam, Dawn shrugged. "Well...it was really weird. But..." she was saying.

Sam nodded as he hugged his crying mother trying to calm her down. "We left our bodies. Someone actually pulled our souls out to an astral plain reality."

"What? That is impossible." Starscream said in disbelief.

Sam shook his head, a growing smile forming. "Not for a God named Primus." He stated.

Eyes and optics widened in alarm and bewilderment from his words. There were many chokes from all of the Cybertronians. Optimus moved forward a little. "Sam, what do you mean?" He asked stunned.

"Primus? What about Primus?" Several yelped.

Dawn smiled as she swung away from Ratchet's hand and started jogging past everyone, towards Lugnut. She heard everyone cry out to her but she didn't stop. "We saw Primus! He is really big! And nice! He told me to do something." She said over her shoulder.

Everyone was stunned at the news but it was Ratchet and Sideswipe who tensed up. "Dawn, what are you doing?" Her Cybertronian fiancée asked uneasily already starting after her.

Hearing him, Dawn turned and raised a hand to halt him. "It's okay, Sides. I will be okay." She told him as she carefully climbed up onto the platform next to Lugnut. She was fully aware of how stiff everyone just got. She just smiled, even as a familiar burn started to tingle across her back. "I am going to wake up your friend." And she reached out to place a hand on to Lugnut.

"Dawn, no!" Sideswipe cried, dashing forward with Ratchet.

But too late.

Hand on Lugnut, Dawn hissed a little as a sharp sting erupted from her back as the marking began to glow through her clothes. She knew this was about to get worse. She knew...

It didn't.

Surprisingly, there was only a mild sting as if she had a sunburn but it didn't hurt like last time. The sparks began running from her skin, licking at the fallen Autobot but it didn't hurt. She heard Sideswipe cry out but she kept her eyes on Lugnut.

Suddenly the sparks stopped, retracting back into her and not bringing up a light show like usual.

Dawn frowned as she just stood there and she was fully aware of everyone freezing in surprise. She pulled a face, raising an eyebrow. "That was it?" She asked looking over the large Autobot.

"What the...? Dawn, what were you trying to do? You could have killed if Lugnut wasn't already deactivated! You cannot keep trying to fix things that must not be..." Ratchet scolded her as Sideswipe picked her up and held her close.

"But he said it would work." Dawn said confused.

"Dawn, it must have been some sort of dream. There is no possibly way you could have met Primus. None of us have heard anything from him for eons and eons." Optimus said gently. "Please do not do that again. The All Spark energy is simply too extreme and dangerous..."

All Cybertronians stopped what they were doing when a blip showed on their radar systems. There was a sudden new signal right in front of them.

"What...!" Several yelped.

And then the large Cybertronian in front of them began to groan and move. His optics shuttered with brilliant blue light before a large hand raised and touched the large head. A series of clicks, whirls, and clanks rumbled in a deep voice as the large Autobot groaned again.

"Impossible!" Starscream was the one to yelp.

Everyone looked at Dawn, who was grinning just as big as Sam. No one could believe this. "I knew it wasn't a dream! We talked to Primus!" She cheered and everyone gaped in shock at her.


	33. Runaway Babies

It was very strange, this place was. Too many things had changed and were so unfamiliar to him. It was actually very unpleasant with how things were going. Things were not as promised and they were starting to get really out of servos.

And the Decepticon Medic didn't like it at all.

Making his way down the dark corridors, he thought about everything that had happened. All of the betrayals, the new arrivals, the prisoner in the Brigg. He didn't like how this was going. Like most of the others, he didn't like the new team. He knew how twisted and cynical they were. And he surely didn't like the so called new Lord on the ship. There was just something about him that ran cold to his spark. Something was wrong and he just had this feeling that if things kept going where he thought they were going, he didn't want any part of it. But he certainly wasn't about to leave his gestalt behind.

So, the Decepticon Chief Medical Officer, Hook made up his processor. It was time to act.

Standing at the Brigg door, Hook went in and allowed his red gaze find where his gestalt was being kept after another fight they had with that damned Scourge's Sweeps. He saw them perk up at his presence but he ignored them and went to the last Brigg stall to look at the large Decepticon inside.

The broken and battered Decepticon looked up, meeting his gaze but glared. He hated Hook for numerous reasons, namely because he had a habit to torture his patients when he was suppose to be helping them. "What do you want?" He growled.

Hook stood there for a moment before narrowing his red glare at the Seeker within. "We move out in two vorns. And we are taking you with us." He simply said before whirling around and leaving the newly surprised Seeker behind.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise that things would get so odd. They all should have realized that by now. But they didn't. They were completely flabbergasted by how things were turning out. Too many things were becoming so strange and totally unfamiliar that even it made everyone just a little uneasy about it.

First, the whole thing with the All Spark energy.

Second, the sudden partnership with Decepticons.

Third, there were sparklings to be taking care of before they deactivated.

And now, two of their most beloved humans were now claiming that they spoke to a being that had not been seen for nearly billions of years?

It surely did not help when a supposedly dead Autobot had just popped back into the land of the living like he had and poor Prowl hadn't been able to handle it. He glitched out and fell back against a swearing Barricade, who almost didn't even try to catch him but had to because of Kris, Kylee and Jake being right at his feet with Steven, who were all yelling in surprise when it happened.

Ratchet had rushed forward to check the sudden rising from the dead Autobot and his scans told him that Lugnut had been in stasis shut down mode, which was why they thought he had been dead. Everyone remembered that it was in that mode that even he had trouble discovering life signs. It was only to the strange power that Dawn had been gifted with that he even came out of it. It was only luck to mind that Ratchet had repaired most of the damages for Lugnut's Deactivation Ceremony, which seemed a little pointless to carry on with now that he was actually up and going.

As soon as the shock about Lugnut wore off, however, the demanding questions came towards the two young adults about what they had just experienced.

"You saw Primus? What was he like?"

"How could this have happened?"

"You are humans! How could you see Primus and not one of our own?"

The questions just kept coming, making Dawn and Sam feel uneasy. It took Sideswipe growling and pulling her back away from everyone ad Optimus blocking everyone away from Sam. "All right, everyone. That is enough. We can get to the bottom of this without so many questions at once." The Prime said sternly and when it calmed down, he looked at Sam. "All right. Sam, Dawn, what happened? How did you meet Primus?"

So Sam explained while Ratchet looked Dawn over for energy withdrawal.

After the explanation, everyone stared at them in surprise, stunned that these two had actually met their God. Especially Starscream when he learned that Primus dubbed him as the new High Lord Protector. No one had been expecting that, whatsoever. Though, what it could possibly mean was the biggest question that had everyone asking, actually.

After the shock wore off, Optimus looked down at Simmons. "Simmons, that picture that you found. May I see it?" He asked as politely as he could.

Simmons snapped out of his stupor before nodding and digging into his jacket. He pulled out the picture and held it up for Optimus and Elita to look at the old mech in the picture. It took only a moment for Optimus to finally realize who it was but for Elita, she gasped and drew back in shock. It was like the mech meant something to her because she looked pretty drawn. Her hands were covering her lower face plates while her eyes were wide.

"Who is it, Elita?" Jazz asked frowning.

Starscream scoffed, impatiently as he shook his head. "Oh, please, you telling me you didn't even realize who that was when you first saw that old photograph, Prime?" He asked sarcastically. So obviously he did know who it was.

Optimus frowned at him but shook his head. "I didn't realize it until now, Starscream. It has been hundreds of vorns, not thousands since I last seen and talked with this mech." He told him before frowning down at the picture again. "But I do not understand. I thought he perished with Cybertron. What is he doing here on Earth?"

The humans all frowned, completely and rightfully confused. They didn't know who or what they were talking about.

"Optimus, who is he?" Will asked, holding his three year old daughter.

For a moment none of the three spoke before Jetfire got a pretty good look at the picture and reeled back as if he had been electrocuted badly. "What in the name of Primus? What the frag is Alpha Prime doing here?" He exclaimed.

Everyone gaped in shock. Did he just say what they thought he said?

"What? He's another Prime?" Trent yelped. "But I thought there was only one!"

Optimus nodded as he stared down at the picture. "There is technically only one Prime at a time. But this is mech is not just any Prime. He was known as Alpha Trion when I last known him. He was one of the original Thirteen Transformers. Our makers and great council of Cybertron." He nodded again as everyone stared at him in shock before looking at Elita, who looked stunned still. "No one has seen him for a very long time. The last time I ever saw him, it was just after the war broke out and I was still a scientist for Space Bridges. He was somewhat my mentor at one time. But he was also..." He paused looking at his mate with sympathy, who did not look like she was taking the news well that this Alpha Trion was on Earth and was in the Department's dirty hands. "He was, or is, Elita One's creator, or what you would call her father."

That news was definitely the cherry on top of the news.

The day passed and the funeral continued without a few of the original audience. They buried Sean near the base in a cemetery as well the sparklings, even they were merely shells. Lugnut had been confined to the med bay for examination, which everyone found he was quite the complainer on such a notion, even for one who had come back to news did spread about what happened with Sam and Dawn, and frankly, everyone was constantly staring at them.

Of course, going over the whole experience again with everyone, it came as a surprise that Cole did not come asking her own questions as the two young adults and everyone thought. Especially when everyone heard that they had seen Sean with Primus.

Still, there was a lot that everyone knew that needed to be done.

The discovery of where the new All Spark for one. And finding out where the Department was keeping Alpha Trion for another. It did not bode well to know that the cruel humans had an ancient Cybertronian like that in their possession.

Three days had passed since Lugnut's recovery and everyone was finding that Jazz hadn't been kidding. The Autobot was highly amusing, though he hadn't taken it well that Decepticons were with them now. Ironhide, Bluestreak and Inferno had to hold him back from attacking the Cons while Optimus quickly explained the situation to him. It didn't help Lugnut's mood that Soundwave and Barricade would be staying for a whole week with their human partners so they could get to know everyone and get used to being around so many other Cybertronians. It didn't seem to be a problem for Jake Hepherr though. He was making fast friends with Rex and Elena. Kylee Hepherr was even hanging out with all of the young adults, getting to know them and learning their stories. She sure had a mouth on her when she learned what Dawn's father and even ex-step-father put her through. She began ranting and it made everyone laugh.

Still, worrying about what the Department was doing was on everyone's minds but Ratchet and Groundhog both didn't have time to dwell on it. They had too much stuff to worry about at the moment and it was the remaining two sparklings that had their full attention.

Since the two were even brought in, they were being constantly worked on by the two medics and even Jolt.

As it was, the repairs were done but it was up to the two to survive now. Ratchet, Groundhog and Jolt had done all they could and the only thing they could do now was leave them in IC units.

It was on the third day since the funerals that things got very interesting around the base.

The doors swished open to allow Starscream and Skywarp into the medbay, both there with a purpose. They found Ratchet going over some of the new tools he had just built to help with his medical abilities. But when they entered, he looked up and faintly smiled with amusement. "Again?" He asked, since this was nearly the twentieth time that Starscream had come in to check on the sparklings. It was amusing of how worried he was about them, though he refused to out right admit it.

Starscream just eyed him dourly. "How are they?" He asked getting right to it.

Ratchet glanced over at the machine that contained who the Seeker was talking about. "They are still off line. We haven't heard a peep from them. It is not normal for our kind, but then again, these two have had quite the journey in their first days, or years for that matter. They have not only been tortured but brutalized in so many ways. I fear for their survival, even if I had done all I could to repair them. It is all up to them to survive now." He explained.

Glancing over, Starscream nodded slowly. "I would like to see them. I heard from Jazz that one of them looks like a seeker. I just want to make sure." He told him.

Ratchet thought for a moment before nodding and headed straight for the machine that held the sparklings. "The femme that Miss Cole has dubbed Slipstream. From what I scanned from her, she will be a flier. Though I doubt she can yet. She hasn't been taught yet. Which I suppose the best to do that job would be you, Skywarp or Jetfire. The other is a grounder. He is slightly bigger than her but he has had a harder time repairing than Slipstream has." He stated before he started to open the machine. "They still are resting..."

As soon as the door opened, hell broke loose.

There was a loud whirl from within and the door was slammed wide open as a pair of small vehicles; a somewhat large model jet and a large remote control car came peeling out of the machine. They both were nearly blindly fast, startling all in the room as they were already making a break for the open medical facility door.

"You were saying?" Starscream yelled as he was already chasing after them.

"Damn it!" Ratchet cried out as he ran after with Skywarp right behind him. "They shouldn't be moving so fast or flying yet! Catch them!"

"Duh!" Skywarp yelled as he ran after his air commander and leader.

However, the two Sparklings were out the door before the full grown mechs could even reach them. There were shouts of surprise as soon as they were out, proving they nearly ran into people. Starscream didn't even slow down as he ran out, nearly stepping on a few soldiers, who shouted again. He paid no mind to them as he hurried after the sparklings.

Ratchet cursed before waving the soldiers to move. "Starscream! Watch where you're going! You will step on the humans!" He called.

But Starscream ignored him as he continued to chase after the sparklings. It was not a good idea to have two sparklings running about like they were doing with so many big Cybertronians walking about.

Though it did not help that for how small the two were, they were sure fast. The grounder was nearly a blur, racing about around on the floor while above him, the little Seeker was flying erratically yet speedily. The three mechs running after them could tell she was having a difficult time staying in the air. Starscream knew if she wasn't careful, she would crash into someone.

"Sparklings! It's all right! We won't harm you!" Ratchet tried to call after the two.

But it didn't work. The sparklings either didn't understand them or just didn't believe them. And to ensure they didn't get caught, they both dashed down another hallway.

"Slaggit! What was that?" Someone yelped.

Starscream was the first around the corner and he crashed directly into Bluestreak and Mirage, sending them staggering back. "Get out of the way!" The Seeker snarled and was after the sparklings again.

Both Autobots just stared in shock after him before looking at Ratchet as he hurried past.

"So, mom and Judy says they already have the flowers picked out and we're going dress shopping tomorrow. I am going to drag Mikaela, Elena and Anya along to pick out brides maids dresses too." Dawn was telling her alien fiancée and soon to be brother in law as they went down the corridor towards the large cafeteria.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker both smiled as they listened to her talking about the wedding preparations. They were still reeling with the idea that she had actually spoken to Primus, himself, like everyone else. There had been many questions asked to her and Sam about the experience and they did try to answer to the best.

But as of now, they were just excited that in one week's time, Dawn would officially be Sideswipe's wife and sparkmate.

Of course there were some questions Dawn had to ask Elita One about. It was more a private reason than anything else. She had asked her mother, but Eliza didn't know what she could say about the subject that she had been asking about. It was a topic that made Dawn blush about as it was.

"In one week, huh?" Sunstreaker asked smirking. "Wow. Can't believe it's happening so soon. And then I'm gonna have a new sister to pick on."

Both Sideswipe and Dawn gave him a dry stare. "You already pick on me, Sunny. How is that going to be different?" She asked with a pout.

And Sunstreaker snickered, backing away when Sideswipe nudged him.

"Speaking of which," the silver twin said smirking and making Sunstreaker's smirk vanish. "So when you finally going to ask Maggie out?" He chuckled when his brother sputtered. "What, with you constantly hounding her and watching her, it's obvious that you like her." He stated.

Sunstreaker groaned but shrugged. "Whatever, mech. I don't know if she even likes me like that." He said, a hint of gloom in his tone.

Both Dawn and Sideswipe smiled. "She does. Trust me." She said to him. "She actually does talk about you all of the time. The only reason she fights with you is because she likes arguing with you. You actually amuse her when you're arguing with her about everything. Plus, she thinks your aft is cute. Though, don't tell her that I told you that. She'd be so mad at me."

Sunstreaker perked right up, his eyes brightening at the sound of that. That was exactly what he liked to hear. Especially the bit about his aft. He actually smirked before running his fingers across his mouth to let her know he wouldn't say anything and she smiled gratefully.

"Watch out!" Someone shouted.

All three jumped and Dawn barely had time to drop down on Sideswipe's hand something came whizzing over her head. The twins, however, yelped as they scampered back, and Dawn nearly slipped if it hadn't been for her fiancée's fast reflexes. He immediately put a hand around her and allowed himself to crash back against the wall behind him.

Poor Sunstreaker, however, yelped again and began doing a little jig as something went racing by near his wheels. He slipped and went crashing down to the ground.

"What the frag?" The silver twin cried as he barely had time to press himself flat against the wall, holding Dawn as close to his chest as he could as Starscream came barreling past.

The Seeker did not say anything but chased after a small jet model and a remote control car, determination to catching them. Right behind him, Skywarp raced by the twins, waving with a grin.

"Starscream? What was that about?" Dawn asked bewildered.

Sideswipe shook his head, eyes wide. "I don't know. But that was weird. You okay, Sunrise?" He asked looking at her in concern.

Dawn smiled but nodded as she clutched onto his fingers. "I am fine, sweetspark. No worries." She then looked down at Sunstreaker. "Sunny, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" She asked, worriedly.

Sunstreaker huffed as he pushed himself to his wheels, rolling a little unstably. "I'm fine. But I am so going to get Screamer..." he was saying looking himself over. But he cut himself with a horrorfied screech, causing his brother and soon to be sister in law to jump. "My paint!" He yelped as soon as he saw the long scrap down his side.

It couldn't be helped that Dawn and Sideswipe rolled their eyes.

It was like that all over. Where ever the two sparklings went, people had to dodge out of the way. Humans scampered out of the way from both of the sparklings and the mechs giving chase. And it certainly did not help when both sparklings finally to divide and go separate ways. Starscream chased after the little Seeker femme while Skywarp went after the grounder.

Reno had been talking to Nikki Valentine in the hall ways when they nearly were run down by the sparklings. It had been an interesting time the past weeks for both of them. Ever since The Boyds had joined in with loop, Reno had shown quite the interest in Elena's nanny, and she returned his interest. They had it planned that sometime in the week, they would go out to dinner and see where it would go from there.

As it was, Nikki was laughing at something Reno had said when they both heard a shout. She looked up in time to see a remote control car come blazing down the path way, under her feet. She danced to the side, colliding with Reno and sent them both careening into the wall and nearly went down if not for Reno throwing out his hand to catching them. His arm was wrapped around her waist, making her face heat up. He didn't notice, however.

"Ratchet!" Reno called when he called when he saw the medic CMO and Skywarp. "What's going on? What was that?"

Ratchet huffed in irritation as he slowed to a halt and watched as the Decepticon Seeker continued to chase after the grounder sparkling. "The two sparklings! They got out and are running amuck! They are fast little slaggers! Even Starscream cannot catch them! We need to stop them or someone will get hurt! If they don't!" He said hurriedly before raising his hand and tapping his communications. "Ratchet to all Autobots! This is an emergency call! The two sparklings brought back from the Department facility have escaped from my medbay! If you see them coming, catch them! Their alt-forms are of a model jet and a model car!" He ordered.

A series of confirmations came back.

Cole was still in her room, trying to pass time and her grieving anger by keeping herself busy. She was still pretty sore about Sean's death. She wanted nothing more than to leave and hunt down Hollander for what he had done. She wanted to be the hunted becoming the hunter.

Of course, she had heard what happened to Dawn and Sam. It was curious by what they had said. Especially the bit about seeing Sean in heaven or another form of reality. she didn't believe though. She wasn't atheist or anything. At a time, she had been a strong believer of God and the spirit world but after what happened with Colleena and entering the war and then the Department, she gave up on faith and hope a long time ago.

It was the sound of pounding feet; metal and organic, as well as shouts that pulled her out of her thoughts.

Frowning, Cole stood up and went to her door to see what was going on. She had just opened the door only to see people running about. She frowned even more, knowing something was going on.

That was why the next person who was running by, she grabbed. "Hey! What's going on?" She demanded of the young man she recognized as Trent DeMarco.

Trent looked wide eyed at her but shook his head as he motioned to where he had been going. "It's those babies that you guys brought in! They got out of the medical facility and are going crazy! Everyone is trying to catch them before they hurt their selves!" He said quickly.

Her breath catching in her chest, Cole looked down the hall with her own wide eyes. "Slipstream." She breathed before booking it down the hall as fast as she could with Trent right behind her. She needed to find the sparkling quickly. She had sworn to protect her and she meant it.

The loudest of shouts and cries were coming from the main hangar and so that was where she went.

Entering the hangar, Cole and Trent found that the entire base was nearly there, though most of the humans were crowding the door ways, trying to stay out of the way as several giant beings were swinging their hands and servos around the air or sweeping them across the ground to catch what appeared to be a model jet and cars, which were dodging their every move.

It was honestly a hilarious but scary sight to see.

Optimus, being the tallest, was even having a hard time trying to catch the small jet as it dove though hands and he ended up smacking poor Bluestreak. "Opps! Sorry, Blue!" He cried frantically.

"That's okay, boss-bot!" Bluestreak yelped as he ended up getting smacked again by Red Alert. "That's okay, Red! Ow! Sunny, you did that one on purpose!" He yelped when he got smacked a third time.

"Dude," Cole heard one of the teens, a dark skinned boy named Jake said as he nudged the boy, Rex. "Is it always this crazy here?"

Rex grinned at the slightly shorter boy, shrugging. "Sometimes. And sometimes it gets really boring. Hi, I'm Rex. My Autobot Guardian is that big red one, Ultra Magnus." He said offering his mechanical hand.

"Cool. I'm Jake. I guess mine is the Decepticon cop, Barricade. He is so cool, man. He works mom and he saved her life one day and he scared the crap out of some bullies that used to beat me up and he threatened my sister's ex-boyfriend when he tried to get into her pants when she said no and he stopped my stupid dad from beating up my mom..." he went on and on while Rex listened with interest.

Cole, however, wasn't listening at all as she looked on with wide eyes. She couldn't believe this mess. She wanted to help but if she tried, she would get stepped on.  
"Cole!"

Cole jumped when she heard the booming voice of Ultra Magnus. She looked up at him and found him standing near the wall. "Wh-what?" She asked loudly over the many shouts.

Ultra Magnus quickly pointed at the small jet as it moved ever closer towards the open hangar door that would lead outside. Nemesis Strika and Soundwave were both there, trying to keep the small Sparkling from dashing outside.

Soundwave's two condor subordinates, Buzzsaw and Laserbeak was chasing her around in the air but they, surprisingly couldn't keep up with her.

"Call your sparkling!" The large Autobot Commander quickly said. He received some pretty interested looks when a few heard him.

"What? What makes you think she will listen to me? I am human, remember? And what do you mean my sparkling? She isn't mine!" Cole yelled.

"Just do it! She's booking it!" Ultra Magnus yelled as he and everyone tried to stop the little flier from going outside. He knew, like everyone did, that once she was out, they probably would never see her again.

Her heart giving a jolt, Cole balled up her fists. "Slipstream!" She yelled as loud as she could.

All activity nearly stopped as heads whipped around to look down at her. Even the grounder skidded to a halt and that was enough for Chromia to seize the small car, much to a wailing commotion he made after he had been caught.

The small jet, however, spun in a loop to turn its nose towards Cole before it suddenly whirled happily and shifted.

Problem was, she didn't know any better that once she shifted, she couldn't fly.

The other problem was, the small seeker had been somewhat flying just outside the base, over a cliff.

So once she shifted, she fell off the cliff.

"Slipstream!" Cole screamed, her hands slapping against her cheeks in horror. Her cries were followed by everyone else.

But only one jumped into action.

Starscream dove right out of the base, transforming in mid leap and dropping after the now whirling and screeching sparkling as she fell down the drop off. He allowed the momentum to carry him quickly before he half transformed in between to snatch the small sparkling out of the air and blasted back into the sky.

The sparkling was against his half transformed fuselage as he dove upward into the sky, holding her close. He could feel her trembling violently against him and all he did was hold her close as he did a flip and landed heavily on the base floor.

Many breaths of relief was released as everyone saw the sparkling safe in the Seeker's arm. Cole immediately raced forward, hyperventilating as she looked up at the sparkling. "Slipstream!" She cried.

At her voice, the small one looked down before whirling shakily and started wriggling to get free.

But Starscream wouldn't have it. He tapped her helm softly to make her stop and look wide eyed at him. He shook his head at her before carefully lowering her into Cole's arms.

Cole held Slipstream close to her, who latched onto her shirt, burying her face into her shoulder. "Oh, god." The former agent said before pulling her back so she would look into those bright blue eyes. "Don't you ever do that again. That scared me nearly to death." She scolded her.

The sparkling whirled softly, before burying her face again.

Her face softening, Cole looked up at Starscream, who surprisingly to all Autobots but a fiery red femme looked softly down at the small one. "Thank you, Starscream." The human said gratefully.

Burning red eyes looking back at her, the Seeker just gave a sharp nod before turning away. He growled to see gaping Autobots. "What? Would you have rather I'd let the sparkling become scrap heap on the canyon floor?" He demanded irritably.

Everyone tore their eyes away and looked down at Cole with surprise. They were stunned to see that she had managed to get through to the sparkling so quickly when they couldn't.

"So...anyone want to explain this?" It was Barricade to ask, grimacing at the sight of the sparkling cuddling with a human.

Chuckling, Ultra Magnus leaned against the wall. "Isn't it obvious? Cole bonded with the sparkling." He received wide eyed looks from the Cybertronians and confused looks from the humans. He shrugged again, as if it was nothing too big. "In other words, Cole is now the little femme's mother."

Now, Cole looked wide eyed up at him, her entire body frozen. "What?" She yelped.

"Whoa! A human? The sparkling chose a human?" Barricade exclaimed.

"Are you kidding me?"

Ultra Magnus shrugged again as he looked around at everyone. "What's the big deal? I think it's all right. Cole would make a good mother to her. She named her, after all. So, of course she is the little one's mother now."

Cole immediately shook her head as she looked up at him before looking at the sparkling. "I...I can't be her mother! We're not even the same species! Besides, I don't know anything about these kind of things!" She said hurriedly.

"So, what? You gonna reject the bond you already made with her?" Ultra Magnus asked skeptically. "I hope you know, I wouldn't do that. You reject her, she might die. She needs you. She wants you as her parental unit."

Her breathing becoming unsteady, Cole shook her head. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. She couldn't take care of this little thing. She didn't know anything about babies as it was. Yeah, she swore to protect Slipstream but be her mother? That was absurd. "But I am human. She isn't! As it is, I am one of the people who had tortured her!" She argued.

It was Elita One who stepped forward, motioning to the little one. "Yet, she is clutching to you as a frightened child would a mother." She pointed out.

Cole shook her head as she looked down at the little seeker in her arms. "But..." she tried to find her words.

"And wasn't you who found her in the first place?" Jazz added. "You heard her when we didn't. So that means, she bonded to you, human or not. Besides, look at what Sam and Dawn can do. They're human and they talked to our God, Primus. So why not?"

Cole was still hesitant as she looked up at everyone before looking down at Slipstream, who looked back with big blue eyes.

It was right then, it could not be helped.

Cole felt her heart melt. She realized that they were right. She couldn't let this little one go. She knew she couldn't. She sighed softly before running her hand across the little one's helm, who whistled and leaned into her touch. It was cute really and made Cole smile a genuine smile before planting a kiss right on top of her head. "You are cute, Slipstream. It's a good thing you are." She looked up at all of the smiles all around her. "I am going to need help with this." She pointed out.

Ratchet moved closer, much to the unease of Slipstream's. He smiled softly at her before looking at Cole. "You have it. We will help you raise this little one." He told her.

Optimus nodded as he smiled down at the Sparkling. "We will do what we can to help." He stated and Cole smiled gratefully.

"What about this one?" Chromia asked holding up a spitting and hissing small mech. The sparkling was struggling like an angry cat. "He sure has sizzle to his temper. Little brat."

Everyone stared at the angry sparkling, unease in many's eyes. They knew this one was going to be tougher. He seemed feisty as ever.

Ironhide frowned when he saw the sparkling pawing at his mate's hand, hard. He growled before walking over and taking him from her. Holding the sparkling in his arms, ignoring his struggles, he lightly rapped a finger on top of his helm. The motion startled the small mech to knocking it off. "Sizzle! Knock it off and behave." He warned.

The sparkling looked up at him with wide eyes before slowly relaxing.

Then came the chuckling from Jetfire. "Well, it looks like Ironhide and Chromia has a new kid, their selves." He said with amusement.

"Wh-what?" Ironhide sputtered while everyone burst into laughter.

Chromia smirked as she scooped up the sparkling and held him close. "Nice going, dad. You gave me a sparkling." She said slyly.

A squeak escaped Ironhide and everyone laughed harder. "Bu-bu-but...I didn't sign up for this! How could...?" He yelped.

"Too bad. We named him so he is ours. We're keeping him." Chromia said firmly before lifting the sparkling up to look into his big blue eyes. "Huh, Sizzle. You belong to me now, don't you?" She cooed softly at him.

What made it cuter, the sparkling now dubbed Sizzle whistled and whirled, sounding like he was giggling as he placed his small hands on Chromia's forehead.

"Awwww!" Both Arcee and Moonracer cooed before hurrying over and began petting his head. "We always wanted a nephew from you and Hide and now we do!" The first cried happily.

"Hi, Sizzle! We are your aunties!" The second sister said cheerfully.

Chuckling Optimus went over and clapped a hand onto a gaping Ironhide's shoulder guards. "Congratulations, Ironhide. You will make a wonderful parental unit." He said brightly.

Looking at him for a moment, Ironhide finally relented and smiled faintly as he looked over at his mate. "Yeah...I guess I can give this a shot. Even if I tried to say no, Chromia would shoot me in the face. So I guess give in." He stated.

"This is a great time to celebrate then! We have two sparklings among us! We have a wedding coming up in less than a week! I think it's time for a party!" Jazz cheered, throwing a fist into the air.

Everyone laughed and agreed.


	34. Dance Off

The decision was made for what they all wanted to do to celebrate. There was no real night club near the base, so they would make one in the main hangar for one night. It had been left to Jazz and the twins, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker to organize their own little club.

So while Ratchet, Groundhog and Jolt examined the sparklings and everyone was getting ready for the party, they took over the hangar. No one was really allowed in the hangar until it was ready.

In the mean time, there was a lot of work being done to finding the location of the new All Spark and Alpha Trion. Maggie, Glenn, Anya and Leo were working hard with Hound, Wheeljack and Simmons to figure out their location. It wasn't easy at all. The picture merely showed the All Spark was in some form of jungle but there were a lot of jungles in the world that it could have been in.

Cole was having quite the time with Slipstream, though. She was enjoying herself with her new child. The first thing she had done with her was give her a bath after she had had her excitement. Flying around like she had had made her quite dirty and scuffed up. So it needed to be done.

So finding a small plastic swimming pool for kids, she filled it up with warm water and was currently giving the little femme a gentle scrub down with a soft brush and Dawn dish soap.

Either way, Slipstream was loving it. She giggled and whirled in the warm water and even as Cole brushed and scrubbed her gently with the soapy brush.

However, both were unaware that they had an audience. Namely just one.

Cole didn't notice that a certain Seeker was hovering just outside of the Autobot wash room, watching her as she washed the little one. She was too involved with cleaning Slipstream. Even as she laughed when Slipstream began slapping at bubbles in the small pool. She was just so adorable.

And in truth, watching the human with the sparkling made the Decepticon's eyes soften and he managed to smile. He would not openly admit it but it was cute to watch.

Unbeknownst to himself, he did somewhat feel his spark lightening as he continued to study the human. He couldn't help but admire her a little. He didn't know what was so interesting about this human. It couldn't be the fact that her red hair resembled the color of deep red roses, which he found quite lovely for such an organic plant of earth. He would never admit it, like most things, but he did enjoy looking at roses once in awhile. They had a delicate sight to them. And his sensory system did find the scent of roses quite pleasant.

Now that he thought about it, he did pick up the scent off of Cole. She did smell like roses.

What amazed him the most was her eyes. Her eyes were an interesting color that he wasn't too familiar with. Hazel just wasn't a color he saw very often. In a way, at an angle, they did have a hint of gold...

A light shriek yanked him out of his admirable thoughts and Starscream stiffened before relaxing again when he saw that Cole was laughing when Slipstream splashed her in the face and drenched her black tank top.

It was then Starscream realized something about Cole. He noticed that she did have quite a nice frame. She was curved all in the right places that could rival a Seeker's. He could definitely see her as a Seeker if she was one of them. Now if only she had wings...

His optic shutters snapped wide open as Starscream realized something. He was admiring the beauty of a human and it was making him feel...!

'Oh, slag! Not going to happen! I am not doing this! Not about a human!' Starscream cursed himself before he turned and started to lumber way. He couldn't stay any longer. It meant trouble if he did.

However, even as he left, Cole had finally turned around after feeling something twinge her heart. She had frowned for a moment at the feeling. She hadn't had a feeling like that for a long time. Not since she had first met Reno in high school.

Turning slightly, she barely caught sight of a departing wing and she frowned, tilting her head to the side. She hadn't even realized that someone had been there. But after that mild tickle of her heart, she realized it. And seeing the light rusted brown color of the wing, she knew who it had been.

Though why Starscream had been watching her made her wonder.

Finally sunset had come and it was time for the party. Everyone who was going was filing in the hangar. Jazz and Blaster were working together with the choice of music. It was mostly energetic dance music booming out of their speakers as everyone came in. At the moment, they had a mash up of Keisha's Take It Off and Party At A Rich Dude's House booming.

Most of everyone in the base was going. Except a few. Ratchet had made up his mind that he didn't want to go so he was sparkling sitting for Chromia and Ironhide and Cole.

Martha Richards decided she didn't want to go either so she agreed to watch Annabelle and Delia for the Lennox's and the Boyds.

As it was, the main hangar represented a night club pretty well. There was flashing lights, loud music booming and many tables surrounding the entire the area. A large buffet table of food and drinks had been set up for the humans. Wheeljack was running the Energon converter for the Cybertronians.

Many of the humans, soldiers and civilians were already on the dance floor and enjoying their time. Sam and Mikaela were dancing near Anya and Trent, Dawn and Sideswipe's human form, Bumblebee and Spitfire, and somehow, Maggie had dragged Sunstreaker onto the dance floor. They were laughing and rocking it out with each other, dancing with each other. Arcee and Hot Rod soon joined in, along with Kylee and Greg Butte, whom seemed to have a thing together, as friends as they said. But judging by the look on Greg's face, he didn't want it to be. He wanted to be more.

Even Will and Sarah, Epps and Monique, Reno and Nikki were out on the dance floor, enjoying their selves. Chromia finally dragged Ironhide out onto the dance floor, both in their human forms to avoid stepping on humans.

It was in the corner of the hangar where the Autobots' real forms were parked.

Everyone was having a good time. Even Skywarp, who was just dancing erratically by himself, or shoving himself onto the dance floor. It couldn't be helped that everyone laughed.

"He looks like he is glitching out." Starscream groaned to Soundwave, both sitting in a secluded corner with the rest of the Decepticons.

Barricade barked with laughter while Soundwave and Groundhog merely chuckled. Nemesis Strika, however, rolled her optics before looking up when Ultra Magnus approached them with Blaster on his shoulder.

All of the Decepticons frowned looking up at the Autobot Commander, surprised that he would even approach them.

"What do you want?" Barricade growled before yelping when someone kicked his shin guards from under their large table. He wasn't sure who it was, Soundwave or Nemesis Strika, who were both glaring at him.

Ultra Magnus, however, paid no mind to him as he offered his hand to Blaster and allowed him to climb on. He pushed him a little closer to Soundwave, who tilted his head the side. "Blaster would like to ask you something, Soundwave. Go on, Blaster. It's all right." He said softly.

Shuffling almost shyly, Blaster turned his big blue eyes towards the lumbering large Decepticon. "Um..." he murmured before adding a meek smile. "Sou-Soundwave, can I ask your subordinates to dance with me? I kind...of want someone more my size to be around me." He said shyly.

The Decepticons looked surprised at the question. Soundwave, however, grunted before tapping his chest and allowing it to open for his subordinates to come out. All of them clambered onto the table, looking curiously between their creator and the two Autobots.

"Ravage, Frenzy, Rumble, Buzzsaw, Laserbeak, and Reedman: cleared for night leave." The large Communications Officer sad monotonously. "Blaster requested a dance with you. Go enjoy yourselves."

The sub-units looked surprised before glancing at Blaster, who looked shyly away. Ravage growled lightly before planting his tail down. "Forget it. I don't dance. Especially with Autobots." He said sourly.

Blaster looked crestfallen.

Rumble and Frenzy studied him for a moment before both grinned and darted forward, gabbing Blaster by the arms. "Okay, Boss! Come on, Blast-boy! Let's go boogie!" Rumble said excitedly.

Once again, Blaster perked up and scampered with them. He was just happy enough that at least two of the minis would join him.

Laserbeak and Buzzsaw glanced at one another before shrugging their wings and taking flight after the three, causing Ultra Magnus and Groundhog to chuckle.

"Pathetic." Ravage growled before laying down to curl up.

"Scaredy cat." Came an amused voice.

Ravage's metal ears perked up and he looked with everyone to find the Cheshire cat grin of Cheetor peering from the edge of the table. He looked highly mischievous as he gazed back at Ravage.

Ravage recalled what was said and growled. "What did you say, spots?" He snarled.

Cheetor smirked before turning slightly away. "I said you're a pussy cat. You couldn't keep up with me anyway. You're so slow that you make snails look fast." He said before cackling and dashing off.

Snarling in irritation, Ravage was after him. He tackled Cheetor from behind and began biting at him, yet surprisingly not hard. There were a few chuckles as everyone watched the two robotic felines began rolling around, looking like two cats play fighting.

Ultra Magnus looked back at the group of Decepticons, who all looked back. "So, why aren't you joining your fellow Con into having fun?" He asked nodding towards Skywarp.

"Please." Barricade remarked dryly. "We are Decepticons. Why would we want to join that idiot? Ow!" He then yelped when Starscream whapped him over the head for insulting his trine mate.

Chuckling, Ultra Magnus shook his head. "At least he is trying to fit in with us." He looked at Nemesis Strika before shrugging and motioning to the floor. "Would you like to join me?" He asked, getting wide eyed looks from all of the Decepticons except Soundwave and her.

Nemesis Strika gave him a dry look before shrugging and pushing herself to her feet. "Sure, why not? I was getting bored." She said ignoring the flabbergasted look from everyone as she and the Autobot Commander went out onto the dance floor.

"Wh-what the frag? Has she no dignity as a fragging Decepticon?" Barricade yelped.

"Hey, Barry!"

The Cons looked down to see who had approached them now and found Kris Hepherr. She was smiling slyly up at her robot partner, hands on her waist. "Hey, come dance with me." She said to him.

Barricade glanced at his fellow Decepticons with hesitance before he scoffed. "Hell no. I don't dance with squishies." He said as darkly as he could.

Snorting, Kris didn't buy that. She just tilted her head to the side. "Is that so? But I thought you and I had such a good time doing it on that one..." she was saying.

"Ahhhhh! Okay, okay, okay! You don't need to go into that!" Barricade quickly said as he stood up, glowering when Kris laughed.

"Barricade, I want FULL details in your report." Starscream called after the interceptor.

The only reply he got back was a very human gesture dealing with an extended finger sticking up, even as he kept walking. Starscream, however, just snickered while Groundhog rolled his eyes. Soundwave made no noise as he ended up standing when he saw Kylee wave at him to join her and the group of young adults and teens. Both Starscream and Groundhog watched bewildered.  
"Hey, Spitfire, looks like your old friend is being a table prop." Flare-Up said with a snicker.

Spitfire glanced at her fellow femme before looking over to see that Starscream was now sitting by himself, watching as Eliza Boyd asked Groundhog to dance and being friendly with him, since he was partners with her husband.

Frowning, the fiery red interceptor shook her head, a light sigh escaping from her. She wished that there was something she...

A light bulb turned on in her head and a big grin formed on her face as she caught sight of a certain human who just walked in. She looked right over at Bumblebee, who seemed to have read their bond and met her eyes. They stared at one another before Bee slumped a little before smiling and nodding as to whatever she was thinking about.

Looking back at Flare-Up, Spitfire smiled slyly. "Hey, I got an idea." She said before leaning in and whispering it to her.

It was a good thing the music was booming because only a few heard Flare-Up yell, "What! Are you crazy?"

But after a moment of explaining the idea, Flare-Up reluctantly gave in and agreed to Spitfire's idea. They both even asked Moonracer, Dawn, Mikaela and Elena to help out, though, only half of them felt apprehensive about it. It was due to the fact that Starscream was a Decepticon and he did have quite the temper about him. Not to mention, some of them did have sparkmates or boyfriends who would not be happy about what they were about to pull.

At the most part, Flare-Up was only doing it because it might actually embarrass the Seeker of what they were going to do.

Starscream had noticed the moment that a certain red haired beauty had come in and he took a moment to study her attire. She was wearing black skinny jeans and a deep red halter top with a shimmering rose imprinted on it. Her deep red hair was pulled half way up, yet ended with curls and waves. And unlike some of the other human femmes, she wore no color alterations that the humans called make up. Perhaps a lip shine called gloss but other than that, nothing.

"I see someone has caught your attention." Came the very familiar voice of his old friend.

Starscream tore his gaze away from the human and looked at the Autobot femme that sat next to him without him even realizing. He scowled a little at her choice of words before turning away towards his Energon. "I do not know what you are talking about, Spitfire." He faked ignorance.

Spitfire hummed softly in amusement before glancing towards Cole Keller. "I am sure." She looked back at her older friend. "You know, this party is for everyone. It is not just for the humans and us, Autobots. You can surely see that with all of your comrades." She told him, sweeping her hand to where every one of the Decepticons were.

Starscream snorted as he looked to Soundwave, who was in a somewhat silent conversation with Jazz and Blaster about the music they were playing then to Barricade, who had his human holo form activated and was dancing with Kris Hepherr. He saw Skywarp clumsily dancing near the older set of twins, Mudflap and Skids, who joined him into dancing, yet looking like he was malfunctioning badly instead. The sight of him caused Starscream's optic shutters to twitch and he grimaced. he looked on to where Nemesis Strika was moving to the music right beside Ultra Magnus and the Seeker had to raise an eye ridge.

That was a curious outcome. Something that Starscream and everyone seemed to have missed and he and everyone realized that. It was due to all of the stares trained on the pair of long time enemies.

Then his gaze trailed to Groundhog, who found himself holding up two human femmes in both hands; Judy and Eliza as they danced and their husbands watched in amusement.

"Peh." Starscream shot a silent but mocking laugh. He looked back at Spitfire, who was smirking at him. "Please, as if I would allow myself to embarrass myself by this ridiculous form of movement." He shot at her.

Spitfire grinned at him, shaking her head. "So are you saying you can't dance?" She asked.

Starscream scowled at her, narrowing his eyes at her in warning. "You know very well that Seekers are the best in rhythm movement rituals, Spitfire. We dance just fine, if not better than clumsy grounders such as yourself and the rest of the Autobots. We fly across the floor, showing grace and tranquility, unlike the loud and obnoxious shuffling you grounders do." He said dryly.

"Then show me and the girls, Star. Prove you are a better dancer." Spitfire challenged slyly.

"Frag no. I know what you are trying to do, Spitfire. And it won't work." Starscream growled at her.

"Well, that's too bad then, Screamster." A voice said from behind him making him stiffen. And the two pairs of hands grabbed at him, forcing him from his seat. "Cause you're going us your moves."

It was Flare-Up who spoke as she and Moonracer pulled him towards the dance floor.

"Hey! What are you crazy Auto glitches doing?" Starscream growled as he tried pulling away, only to feel hands pushing against his wings. He looked around to find Spitfire helping the other femmes get him onto the dance floor. "Spitfire!"

Everyone soon noticed what was going on and some had to stare or even laugh at the Seeker's predicament. The other Decepticons made no move to help him either. They didn't see him in danger. So they would watch curiously.

As it was, Mikaela was talking silently to Jazz, making a request. And whatever she said had the silver Autobot grin and nod. Then she was off across the dance floor to join Elena, Dawn and Anya, who were telling their boyfriends not to get technical or interfere.

The three Autobot femmes finally had Starscream on the dance floor and had him surrounded so he couldn't try to escape. It did not help when the human femmes joined them, getting quite the looks from everyone. Everyone looked surprised and some of the guys stared at their girlfriends with alarm.

But as they tried to call to them, their voices were drowned out by the sudden booming music of Right Around by Flo Rida. And as soon as the music was going, the femmes began to dance around Starscream.

"What the frag are they doing?" Ironhide asked bewildered as he watched the awkward Seeker in the middle of the femmes.

Chromia stared before she smirked and turned to him. "They're trying to make him fit in." She then grabbed his shoulder and hopped up to tap her forehead with his. "Don't get jealous, hon." She told him, earning a confused look before she rushed forward and joined the dancing femmes. She almost cackled when she heard Ironhide sputtering in alarm. But he didn't move after her.

In the middle of dancing femmes, Starscream was trying to decide if it would be worth just attacking them to getting away from him. He tried to move to leave but every time he tried, one of the femmes would block his escape.

"Come on, Star! Dance!" Spitfire yelled over the booming music.

Starscream glared at her. "No! I don't want to! Now leave me alone!" He growled as he tried to leave again but Chromia spun into his path blocking him off. "Will you get the frag out of my way!"

"Nope! Start dancing, Screamer! We won't let you go until you do!" The blue trigger happy femme laughed.

Starscream just growled at her before jumping when Spitfire and Moonracer began aft bumping at his sides. "What the frag!" He yelped. He looked down to find that the human girls were dancing close to him as well.

"Come on, Starscream! We're just trying to have fun with you!" Dawn called over the loud music.

Glowering, the Seeker shook his head before looking around to find quite a few glowers were aimed at him. He grimaced to see that the two Corvette twins were glaring at him, as well as the blue Porsche. Even Ironhide looked ready to kill. "I swear, you're just trying to kill me." He grumbled even as the femmes kept dancing. He was surprised to see that Bumblebee looked like he was enjoying watching the torture he was going through, however. He spotted an opening through the femmes and made way for it.

Suddenly a pink and black femme was there, blocking him off and dancing. He looked flabbergasted at Elita One before looking over at Optimus Prime, expecting to see him making his way over to slag him for his dancing mate being near him.

But again, Starscream was surprised to see that the Prime was watching and looking quite smug about it.

Before he knew it, there were quite a lot of femmes, human and Autobots dancing around him. They were moving and dancing to the music, not looking like they cared of who and what he was. He looked for support from his fellow Decepticons and scowled when he saw that they were either laughing at him or looking amused about what was going on.

"Dance, Screamer. Or is it a lie about Seekers being the best dancers of Cybertron? Do you really suck that bad?" Challenged Arcee, with sly amusement.

Glaring full out at her, Starscream had it. He didn't want to do this but it seemed all of these femmes weren't giving him a choice. And having that kind of challenge was enough to annoy him.

So he snapped to it.

Everyone looked surprised when the Seeker suddenly began to move to the music, and doing quite well for his size. He even kept up, if not went faster as the femmes all spun in circles to the music.

"Whoo-hoo! You go, Star!" Skywarp cheered as he watched his Air Commander, Leader and Brother dancing to the highly energetic music.

Laughing, Spitfire nodded as she danced right beside her old friend, who was basically sandwiched between her and Flare-Up. "See! It's fun!" She cheered when she saw a ghost of a smirk on Starscream's face plates. Especially when cheers began exploding all over the room by all.

It was a surprise, once again that the Autobots were finally getting over the shock and were actually enjoying the show. No one could deny that Starscream was actually pretty good when he got into the beat of the music.

Sitting at a table and smirking as she watched, Cole was one of the few who hadn't joined in on the rave that seemed to break out all around the Decepticon Leader. She even managed a light chuckle when at the point of the song it seemed to go into a slow motion part and all of the Cybertronians and the human women actually danced slow mo to the music. She, like a lot of the people and robots laughed at the sight.

"So why aren't you out there?"

Cole looked up and frowned when she saw Reno joining her table. She stared at him for a moment before shrugging. "I don't dance." She said dryly.

Reno smiled slyly at her, raising an eyebrow. "Oh really? You sure were doing fine at the night club when we came to get you." He stated. "And as I recall, you used to be on the dance team in high school."

Cole gave him a dry stare before looking away, miffed that he even remembered that far back. "Please, I didn't say I can't dance. I said that I don't dance." She remarked.

Again, Reno smirked at her before shrugging and turning slightly away. "Right. Whatever you say. Maybe you're just rusty." He said trying to persuade her.

"Drop dead, Reno. Reverse psychology don't work on me." Cole snapped. "I can dance if I want to."

Reno then offered his hand to her, nodding to the dance floor. "Then bring it on." He said with a challenge.

Cole glared at his offered hand, looking ready to snap it off. "Forget it! I wouldn't dance with you even if you got on your knees and begged!" She growled.

"Oh, yeah? Then who would you dance with? Without biting their heads off when they are just trying to be nice?" Reno asked skeptically.

Cole glared harder at him but then her eyes flickered onto the dance floor. She wasn't so sure what made herself look at him but she smirked at the thought. It would be an interesting challenge. And she did want to see what this Seeker was really made of.

If he could dance as a huge robot, then could he as a human?

"Challenge accepted, Reno." Cole said as she stood up, looking right at his surprised look. She leaned forward, hands on the table. "But I still won't dance with you." She added before turning and walking towards the dance floor.

Reno watched her go, still surprised by her reaction. But then he smiled and turned his eyes towards Optimus, who was looking his way. He gave him thumbs up to let him know it worked. "I just hope you know what you're doing, Optimus." He said in a quiet tone.

"As do I." Optimus said softly, hearing Reno's statement from across the way. He turned his eyes onto Cole as she approached the dancing mass of femmes and the Seeker.

The song ended and Starscream looked smugly at Spitfire as a burst of applause and cheers broke out from all around the room. He was mighty proud of himself for showing up the femmes. "There. Are you happy? I danced and did better than you, lot." Hr said smirking.

Spitfire smirked back as she folded her arms and nodded her approval. "Not bad, Star. Not bad at all." She said trying to sound impressed, though she somewhat was.

"Yeah, but can you dance in your human form?"

Starscream's eyes lit up at the voice before looking down to find Cole there, hands on her hips and smirking up at him. He frowned a little, recalling what she said and snorted. "More than likely. Human dances are so much more simpler than a Cybertronian dance." He said smugly.

A wide grin spread out on Cole's face and she nodded as she dropped her hands to her side. "Then show me." She said before glancing over at Jazz and Blaster. "Hey, music cans. How something appropriate for us?"

Jazz and Blaster stared somewhat confused and amused at the same time.

Starscream blinked. "Come again? Us?" He asked, missing a few glances from the others around them.

Cole nodded as she looked back up at him with a sly smile. "That's right. Us. I am challenging you to a dance off. You against me to see who is a better dancer. I used to dance in high school and I had won a few competitions. And recently," She rolled her eyes and shot a few of the Autobots and human men a look. "People found out I was quite an exotic dancer at a night club. So I have the skills."

In unison, and not missing that look trained on their husbands, Sarah and Monique looked at Will and Epps, who both cringed and looked back at their wives.

"A night club?" Sarah asked dryly.

"You mean a strip joint." Monique said just as dryly before reaching over and grabbing Epps' shirt collar, pulling him close. "Mind telling me what you were doing in a strip club and not telling me about it?"

"Erm...uh, finding Cole?" Epps replied weakly.

"I swear, I didn't look at anyone. I was just looking for Cole." Will said in an uneasy tone as he found himself being stared down by Sarah.

Sarah narrowed her eyes at him before nodding sharply. "That better be it, William Joshua Lennox. Or you are in big trouble. The only one you should see strip dancing is me." She growled.

"Ewwww!" Both Mudflap and Skids drawled out.

"TMI, Sarah." Ironhide added grimacing while Will got a goofy grin on his face.

"Anyway, shall we begin?" Cole challenged ignoring the banter all around her.

Starscream smirked before he made his way to the large corner for the Cybertronians' bipedal forms. He immediately transformed into his jet form and his hologram flickered into view. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into." He said as he made his way back over.

Smirking right back, Cole nodded before looking over at Jazz, who had Spitfire whispering into his audio receivers and a big grin on his face plates to whatever she was saying. "Jazz?" She called over.

Jazz sent her a smile and thumbs up before a very familiar song came blasting out. "Gotch'ya, Cole! Knock him dead!" He said cheerfully.

And as soon as Katy Perry's E.T began, Cole started the dance off by spinning rapidly in one place before snapping into the rythumn of the song, moving to the beat with her body.

Throughout the room, cheers and applause broke out in deafening volumes. Humans started it before it jumped to the Cybertronians. They watched as Cole moved with grace to every beat of the song. She side stepped to the right boom, spun in a circle with the words and even added a few curling backwards before snapping right back up straight.

After the first chorus, however, she snapped a mocking bow towards Starscream, who had been watching with some fascination but amusement, his arms folded across his chest. It was her invitation for him to join.

With a fake yawn, Starscream snapped onto it, doing the exact same movement that Cole had just pulled, except with surprising speed, flexibility and grace. And to add his own spice his dance, he leapt into the air and did a 350 spin on the side before landing in a pose to mock Cole right back.

In a soft peak of the song, Cole and Starscream looked right at each other, smirking before they both snapped into the same movement, both moving at the same time, with the same steps, spins, curving sweeps. They were in exact sync.

And everyone watching couldn't help but either cheer or just join in to dancing to the song. It was like the entire dance off had been recited and practiced. Dawn and Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Maggie, Sam and Mikaela, Arcee and Hot Rod, Bumblebee and Spitfire, Trent and Anya, Cliffjumper and Flare-Up, and even Rex and Elena had joined in to dancing along.

"Well, gotta say this is entertainment." Reno snickered as he and Nikki went to join Optimus and Elita One as they watched the dance off.

Optimus chuckled as he wrapped an arm around his sparkmate, who was smiling. "Yes, it surely is. I never realized that Seekers were so talented with music and movement like this. And it seems Starscream and Cole can keep up with each other." He said with amusement. He, with everyone, watched as a sweeping spin sent both Cole and Starscream towards each other and they both stopped in time from colliding into each other.

But it did bring them quite close to each other and all they could do was look right at each, a hint of a genuine smile on each of their faces. They were enjoying the dance off a lot more than they would have thought.

"I think that this might work out. They already find each other fascinating..." Optimus was saying.

"Optimus Prime." Came a very un-amused, dead tone, making the Autobot Leader cringe at the very sound of it. Even Reno and Elita One had cringed before all four pairs of eyes turned to find Keller standing there right next to them.

Without alerting everyone even noticing him, Keller had come in, with a serious look on his face. He had a purpose for coming to find Optimus Prime. Something had come to his attention that just came to his attention and he did not like it whatsoever. He had entered just in time to see Cole and Starscream spinning and facing each other like they were. He had stopped dead in his tracks, looking surprised and alarmed by what he was seeing. He was not expecting to see his only living daughter dancing with a dangerous Decepticon in his human form.

And to make matters worse, he had heard that last bit of what Optimus had said, since the four; two humans and two Autobots were standing near the door.

Optimus grimaced as he looked down at Keller. He knew this was not good whatsoever. Especially with that last bit of information he just stated. And it probably didn't help that he had sent Keller the list of which Decepticon were paired up with which human.

He knew very well and purposely had put Starscream and Cole's names last, knowing that it would probably not go too well with Keller.

This dance off, this somewhat sneaky way of trying to get Cole and Starscream to work together, to get comfortable with one another probably was not helping the matter at all. Especially with the manner of how the pair were looking at each other as the song and dance finally ended. The two covered it up well as they stepped back from each other and joined in with the cheering and applause.

"John, I can explain..." Optimus was saying.

Keller shook his head, holding up his hand to halt whatever was about to be said. "Save it for a moment, Optimus. We are definitely going to talk about this partnership with Cole and Starscream later. But we need to talk right now. It is very serious. A certain name or two has showed up in the Department profile manifest that you need to know about right now. And it would be better that no one else knows about this." He said seriously.

Optimus frowned, with Elita One, Reno and Nikki before they all turned and walked with Keller right out of the main hangar to somewhere more private. This did not look good.

With the song have ended, everyone cheering, Cole and Starscream looked at one another, both smirking at each other. They had enjoyed that. It had been exhilarating for both.

"Not bad. For an over grown tin can with wings." Cole said with a teasing hint.

Huffing but smirking, Starscream merely folded his arms and shrugged. "Not bad, yourself, squishy. Actually, if you were a Cybertronian, you might actually make a nice Seeker. You do have grace and speed. For an insect." He said lightly.

Instead of being offended, as some humans might, Cole snorted before lightly punching his shoulder, sending an interesting tingle shooting through them both. But she paid no mind to it while he froze.

"Whatever you say, Starscreamer." Cole teased.

Starscream blinked but did not reprimand her for the teasing slaughter of his name. He just stared at her, surprise in his eyes before he flinched and scowled at the sound of a loud metallic thunk from somewhere in the room.

Jerking around, the Seeker growled, glaring at his trinemate, who had jumped up on top of his real body and was sitting on his wings. "SKYWARP! GET OFF OF ME!" He snarled before flickering out of view and his real form began twisting and transforming, knocking the deep purple and black Seeker from his wings.

"But I wanna dance with you next, Screamer!" Skywarp cried cheerfully.

Snarling, Starscream went after his brother, who shrieked and bolted away from him, heading straight for the open hangar door. Both Seekers blasted off outside, one still screaming for mercy and one snarling petty threats.

Everyone, human and Cybertronian just laughed as they watched and listened. Mudflap and Skids had actually went to the door to watch, however and laughed hard at whatever they saw.

"Run, Seek'a, run! He a'gaining on you!" The reddish orange twin called, which was followed by a shriek and a loud whump.

Skids slapped the back of his head. "You mean fly, ya stupid, stupidhead! Seekers fly, stupid genius!" He snapped.

Growling, Mudflap turned and slapped him right back before once again another fight broke out between them. It ended quickly when Ironhide walked over and slammed their heads together, snapping at them to knock it off before they crushed a human.

Cole, however, was smiling as she walked over to the open door and looked out at the night sky to watch a dark jet chasing after an almost invisible against the night sky jet. She smirked and shook her head, not really realizing that her heart was actually fluttering.

He had been called to That office, something that did not happen at all. Not once had he been called by Him and he preferred it that way. Because being called by Him meant two things. And not very good things.

One, something happened and it was not a part of the plan.

Two, he did something wrong, which was rare enough, and he was being retired.

Not that he let his anxiety showed, but he couldn't help but feel anxious about why of all people that the Director had called for him to join the one office throughout the entire facility, if not all facilities that no one but the Doctor went to visit.

This was either good or bad and he was leaning more towards bad. He would nearly be the only agent to actually get a summoning from the Director, himself.

Coming to the pair of dark steel doors, the Department Agent took a deep breath, put a complete dead look on his face and knocked. He did not hear a voice call to him, but the door slowly creaked open on its own accord. So he went in.

The office was nearly pitch black. He couldn't see anything whatsoever. So he stood near well lit door. "Sir, you summoned me?" He asked in a dead, emotionless tone.

"Sit down, Agent. We have much to discuss." Came an almost mechanical, deep throaty voice. It sounded like at one time the Director had had his throat damaged, though the agent still couldn't pinpoint his location.

"Sir, I am afraid..." the Agent was saying.

But there was a loud click, nearly making him jump. He only relaxed when a single spot light from above in the ceiling turned on, revealing a chair in the middle of the room. It was still too dark to see where the Director was sitting.

"I said sit down." The cold mechanical voice spoke again.

Hurrying to do as ordered, the Agent sat down, and fought the urge to squirm. "Sir?" He asked a little uncertain of how to go. "Was my performance as Department Agent not satisfactory?" He immediately assumed this was leading to Retirement and it sent a cold, terrifying chill through him.

"No. Relax yourself, Agent. This is not a Retirement plan." The cold mechanical voice spoke from the dark. "Hollander?"

The agent nearly jumped out of his skin when an old man suddenly walked right out of the darkness, a file in his hand, which he dumped into the Agent's hands.

"Agent Adams, I think you may want to see this. We are sending you on a mission, which is highly, if not extremely delicate. But I think you need to see the facts first of who your targets are." The Doctor, Hollander said, his tone extremely serious.

Frowning, the Department Agent flipped open the file, looking at a picture right on top. His breath sharply caught in his chest as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was horrifying, shocking and in a way, disgusting from what he saw.

"This is..." The Department Agent said, a little acid in his tone.

"Your next target, or at least one of them." The mechanical voice spoke up. "In that file, you will find all you need to know of how to eliminate your targets. Our sleeper agent in the enemy base has gotten everything we need. Including this abomination photo. You are to fix this. One way, or another. Either be her or it."


	35. An Almost Perfect Wedding

Things were A lot different since the party. Because of Jazz's idea of throwing a celebration for Dawn and Sideswipe's wedding and the sparklings coming into everyone's lives, people were a lot more relaxed around the Decepticons.

After mingling with them, seeing them dancing easily with Autobots and humans, they were finally fitting in. The twins, both sets got along well with Skywarp, due to him being childishly innocent for a Decepticon. Plus je had some pretty good prank ideas to pull on everyone.

Soundwave was the most polite and professional of the group, though so was Groundhog. He was still a little intimidating because of his size and being very quiet but everyone found him easy to get along with. He got along just fine with Prowl, Mirage and even Blaster, who found himself growing quite fond of his subordinates. He made friends with Frenzy and Rumble all right, and the two Condors, Buzzsaw and Laserbeak treated him and others just fine. Ravage was just a little harder but he didn't mistreat him. But he was getting along just fine with Cheetor. They both could be seen running through the halls with each other, tackling one another when they saw each other and just play fighting

It was Reedman who was hard to get along with. He was not friendly at all, no matter what Soundwave did or said to reprimand him for being cold to Blaster. He was definitely the least of all of the Decepticons.

Even Nemesis Strika seemed to be getting better with the Autobots and humans. She easily talked to Elita One now, as well as Ultra Magnus. There didn't seem to be any hate between them anymore. Of course, everyone began to notice something they never would expect to happen.

Now and then, someone; Autobots or humans would catch her watching Ultra Magnus, especially when he began helping training the humans on how to take down Decepticons.

And surprisingly, Nemesis Strika joined in to training them. She actually jumped right in and began telling the humans how to take them down.

Groundhog got along the easiest with Ratchet and Jolt and even Nik. They were always together, talking about their methods of medical studies. He was learning a great deal from Ratchet, as well. Things he didn't know, Ratchet filled in the blanks. He was even learning human biology and health from Nik, wanting to not only help their own kind, but humans too. Everyone was quite pleased by that.

And eventually, Groundhog got fed up with his clanking tow truck form and scanned a new form. He chose a similar form to Ratchet's, only he was an interesting a yellowish-orange color.

Barricade, surprisingly, was getting along with Bumblebee. He finally admitted that he saw the yellow and black scout as a worthy adversary and rival. They shared a few laughs over some of their more embarrassing encounters when they were the first their fractions on Earth. Some of the stories were even funny to everyone listening to them.

As for Starscream, he wasn't easy for most to get along with but he got along just fine with Cole. Especially when she asked him for a favor.

"Hey, Starscream." Cole called as she carried Slipstream on her hip. She waited till he turned around to look at her, not missing how he stiffened a little at the sight of her and the Sparkling Seeker. She ignored it though. "Hey, I don't know much about Seekers but I do know there is no way I want Slipstream flying around without being properly taught. So can you teach her?"

Almost all activity stopped immediately within the room and stared at her in surprise. They couldn't believe she was actually trusting Starscream to teaching her sparkling. And neither could the Seeker, himself.

"You want me to teach her to fly?" Starscream asked bewildered.

Cole nodded as she gave him quite the look. "Yeah. I do, winged tin can. Why, is that a problem?" She asked skeptically.

"Yeah, he's a Decepticon. How do you know he won't teach her to be bad?" It was Quick Change to ask bluntly before getting slapped over the head by Ratchet.

Cole gave the Autobot quite the dark look before she looked back at Starscream as she shifted Slipstream, who was finding her hair interesting. "Look, I trust you. I know that Jetfire is probably a better flier than you but he is kind of old," she ignored the annoyed huff from the Ancient Seeker. "And he is kind of impatient. And I am not asking your crazy brother to teaching her to fly. So that leaves you. Now will you teach her or not?" She asked impatiently.

Amused, Starscream finally nodded. He didn't see a problem with it at all. So he figured why not? "Fine. I'll teach her." He told her.

And outside they went, right on top of the base.

Some people were actually quite curious about the whole ordeal so they went with just to watch. It was Autobots and humans, as well as the Decepticons. Even Chromia and Ironhide brought out Sizzle to watch, figuring they might as well begin teaching him things he would need to know.

Now, getting Slipstream's attention was another matter. She was just a baby, after all and was curious about her surroundings. Talking to her wasn't easy either. She was still very uneasy around other humans and Cybertronians so the most she did was bury her face into Cole's hair, trying to hide.

But Starscream had his own ideas to catch her attention. He simply transformed into his jet form and that had her looking quite at him curiously.

"Skywarp, transform. I think we shall give her an idea of what she could be capable of." The Air Commander said smugly.

Skywarp understood what he meant and smirked before making a swift transformation into his Night Hawn jet form. It received curious looks from everyone and a snort from Jetfire. Especially when both Seekers blasted off into the air.

Slipstream's attention was definitely on the flying pair now, her eyes wide with curiosity. Cole smiled as she turned her so she had a clearer view of Starscream and Skywarp.

"What are they up to? How is that suppose to help?" Sunstreaker asked huffily.

Spitfire smiled before folding her arms. "Don't you see it, Sunny? They're doing an air show." She stated, surprising everyone.

And sure enough, the two Seekers picked up speed, flying higher and higher above the canyons before they separated and began spinning rapidly in the air and doing loops through the clouds. The speed they were going sent whisps of clouds trailing after them like a tail.

In addition, both spun in the air, heading straight for each other. Everyone expected them to collide and had many breaths held for a moment before Skywarp made a swift transformation and practically jumped right onto Starscream's wings, launching himself higher into the air where he fell speedily. Again everyone caught their breath, watching as he fell.

Coming close to hitting cliffs, he transformed again and blasted into the air, kicking up dirt from behind him. He was after Starscream again, flying right beside him.

Both Seekers flew side by side, maneuvering together in sync, turning and twisting, twirling and spinning. They made even spun rapidly in the air, catching clouds and making swirly designs with them. The clouds honestly looked like ice cream when they were done.

Suddenly the clouds exploded as a large black jet flew right through it, surprising everyone. It took just a moment to realize that it was Jetfire. No one had seen him even take off.

All three jets flew together, in and out with each other. They even flew straight up towards the highest point before looping backwards and falling straight back towards the earth at high speeds. With a hundred feet, however, they kicked back up into the air, disrupting a few dandelion fluffs in the process and sending them scattering in the wind.

Slipstream giggled as a few tickled her strange antenna before she wriggled in Cole's arms to be put down. So the human obliged, smiling.

And that's when the little Seeker decided she wanted to try now.

Making a swift transformation, she launched herself into the air, making several, Cole included to gasp and scamper after her.

The problem was, Slipstream was faster than them and took to the air trying to go higher.

"Slipstream! No!" Cole called out as she was left behind, still running to catch her sparkling. She felt her heart give a jolt when the little femme wobbled in mid flight as she left the safety of the cliffs. She even began to fall a little, making several yelp in fear.

But then before they knew it, the rusty silver jet was there, using his wing to straighten her out and flying close to her to make sure she stayed in the air.

Cole let out the breath she realized she was holding. She watched with a smile, shaking her head as she watched the three larger jets surround her like a protective shield. She knew that her little sparkling was in good servos. And she was glad.

The now four jets flew through the air; the three large ones going at a steady pace so the little one could keep up.

Of course, when Slipstream tried to break loose from their formation, she was cut off immediately and a gentle reprimand met her by one of the three. She tried a few times before Starscream moved under her and lift upward until she was riding his wing. She squeaked in surprise and annoyance but he made it clear that if she didn't stop trying to break away from the three, the lessons would stop.

Slipstream understood that enough and settled for flying right with them. She seemed happier that way. Her excited squeals and whistles could be heard from the ground and it made several laugh or awe on how cute it sounded.

Suddenly, when Starscream, Skywarp and Jetfire didn't seem to be looking, Slipstream sped up very quickly and ducked under a wing that tried to slow her down by Jetfire. She dove towards the ground, causing breaths to catch. For a , moment, it looked like she lost control and was falling.

"No!" Cole yelped, her hands on her mouth and looking horrified again. She watched helplessly as her sparkling fell towards the field she was in.

Starscream was after her again, making a half transformation to catch her.

But suddenly, Slipstream slipped right through his reach as she sped through the dandelions again, sending fluff seeds flying through the air before she was blasting into the air, trying her own spinning and twirling.

It seemed to surprise everyone as they watched her, moving through the air, copying the moves that the older Seekers had pulled. She barrel rolled, spun somewhat clumsily but she was staying in the air just fine.

"Wow! She's a natural!" Flare-Up said impressed.

Ratchet merely frowned but had a look on his face plates as his eyes lit up. He followed the little Seeker carefully before he caught his breath. "I think I understand!" He said suddenly catching everyone's attention. "I need to run a few tests to be sure but I think Slipstream might have a photographic memory unit. She sees the maneuvers that the Seekers do and learns them quickly. She will be a fast learner and will probably master the formations quickly." he announced.

Everyone was surprised to hear that but pleased nonetheless. They continued to watch as Slipstream flew through the air with the three older Seekers, moving with them in a formation similar to what they were using before.

Finally after an hour, the little sparkling came back to the ground and landed softly into Cole's awaiting arms. She looked exhausted and it made everyone smile.

"I think it's time for someone's nap." Cole said as she held Slipstream close. She looked up at Starscream, Skywarp and Jetfire as they landed with light thuds and she smiled at them. "Thank you, guys. Same time as tomorrow for her new lessons?" She asked.

Starscream was looking softly at the little femme but he nodded to Cole. "Sounds like a plan." He said lightly.

Cole smiled, looking into his eyes before turning away to go inside and set Slipstream down for a nap. She was unaware of the eyes following her.

"Uh-hem." Someone cleared his throat and Starscream looked at Jetfire, who was smirking at him. "Just be sure you know what you're getting yourself into, my old friend. Humans are not like us. They don't stay connected with others when things get really screwy. So make sure this is what you want." He stated.

Starscream gave him a suspicious look before his eyes widen in realization. "It's not like that! You don't know what you're saying, old mech." He growled before he stormed off.

Jetfire watched him go, smiling. "Yeah, yeah, sure. You know exactly what I'm talking about and that scares you, don't it?" He asked more to himself before he followed everyone inside.

For the next two days, that was how it was. Starscream would take Cole and Slipstream outside for the flying lessons, everyone continued to go about their ways and the search for the All Spark and Alpha Trion continued. Though as the next few days passed, everyone realized that something was bothering Optimus. He was being quite serious and always looking around as if searching for something. He, especially watched Liaison Galloway very closely whenever he was around.

But no matter what everyone asked, he wouldn't tell what was up.

But no one kept pressing him. They had more things to worry about. Especially when Dawn and Sideswipe's wedding was only three days away now. They were trying to get things ready for the big day for the happy couple. Dawn had her dress picked out finally, as well as the brides maids dresses. The flowers were coming in and the main hangar was, once again, under construction by the femmes; humans and Autobots.

Everyone was looking forward to this, now that it was finally here. Jazz, Soundwave and Blaster all worked together with the couple, deciding what music and songs should be played during the reception and ceremony.

And finally, the day before came. And Sideswipe made a fuss about the tradition of not seeing the bride before the wedding. Optimus eventually had to make it an order to keep Sideswipe on one side of the base away from Dawn. He hadn't been happy about that one, however. But he wouldn't go against his Prime's orders.

The morning of, Dawn was in a state of jitters.

"Dawn, will you sit still? It will be fine." Eliza said as she tried doing Dawn's hair up.

Dawn was once again wriggling in her seat, pale as could be. She felt so many questions coming to her and she was unsure if she wanted to go through with this now. "Mom, were you ever this nervous?" She finally asked.

Eliza and Judy both smiled at one another before her mother nodded as she curled her hair with the curling iron. "Believe me, I was so nervous that I felt like puking. It's natural to be restless like this before your own wedding." She said gently.

Swallowing hard, Dawn looked up at her. "All three times?" She asked uneasily.

Eliza smiled faintly before nodding. "All three times, baby girl. Don't worry. It will be fine." She tried to reassure her.

"Mom," Dawn asked cautiously. "What was dad like before the wedding? Why did you fall in love with him?"

There was a long silence before Eliza smiled faintly again. "Your father was a good man, Dawn. He really was. He was sweet, romantic and he did make me feel secure. He was the love of my life." She said softly.

Dawn looked away, her eyes falling a little. "But what happened? What made him leave? Why did he not love you anymore?" She asked quietly.

Eliza slowly shook her head, looking sadly at her. "I don't know honestly, honey. I guess we just fell out of love. He found someone else. It happens to some people." She saw the worry in Dawn's eyes and she understood. She placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, making her turn. "Dawn, it won't happen to you and Sides. You two...you are both so deep together that you are one. You move, he moves. He moves, you move. You two think alike, you know what each other will say, you can't stop being around each other. You two are most definitely soul mates. Nothing bad will happen between you two to make you split." She promised.

Dawn felt a little better. She needed to hear that. She knew that her mother was right. As it was, she felt that Sideswipe was her other half. She felt if she wasn't with him, she would split in half.

A knock came to the door, and Elita One popped her head in, smiling softly. "Dawn, it's almost time." She told her.

Dawn smiled gratefully as her mother finished with her hair and she stood up, looking over at Judy as she pulled out the dress from the closet. It was time.

The main hangar was full of people and Cybertronians in seats of all sizes. Even the Decepticons were attending and looking quite curious about the event. Even Nemesis Strika was looking interested about this human ritual. She was looking around at the scenery with interest, eyeing the many flowers and actually looking like she enjoyed the sight.

The most interesting part was some of the guests that decided to crash the wedding. It surprised everyone to see that the President had shown up, surrounded by four body guards, who were eyeing all of the Autobots with wide eyes and the Decepticons warily. They were not going to put their guard down with them.

Optimus was standing at the front of the aisle, standing tall and proud as he waited for his part to come up. He was glad and honored that Dawn had even asked him to even take part.

As everyone was finding their seats, there was soft music playing to keep everyone entertained for now, if they weren't talking at least. At the moment, Jazz had Heaven Candlelight mix by DJ Sammy and Yanou playing. It was a gentle love song that had a few married couples smiling to and holding hands. Though soon, it was going to change. There was a song that Dawn has specifically requested to be played instead of the usual Wedding ballade.

And soon, Christina Perri's A Thousand Years began playing, which was perfect for Dawn and Sideswipe. Once everyone heard the song, heads turned to see that it was beginning so everyone stood up in respect. It only meant it was time.

The first to come out was Sideswipe, of course, his brother right beside him, gleaming silver and looking his best. It was funny to see both of them were wearing two large black bow ties and brought a few chuckles from several that saw them. It was even funnier that Sideswipe looked quite anxious about getting to the end of the aisle and getting this over with.

Together, they rolled up to the front of the room and stood to Optimus' side, awaiting.

Behind them came Eliza and Nik, arm in arm looking happy as could be that this day had come. While she looked beautiful in a pale yellow sleeveless dress, he looked handsome in a fine German made black suit, a pure white rose tucked into his breast pocket.

Behind them, came the brides maids; human and Autobots, lined up. Arcee, Moonracer, Chromia, Flare-Up, and Spitfire were lined up and walking right beside them were Mikaela, Anya, Elena, and Maggie, whom smiled directly at Sunstreaker, who in return seemed to puff up and try to look taller. All of the four human girls wore smashing dresses; noodle strapped that ran down to their ankles and all a gentle sunbeam yellow, the color of rising sun. They carried beautiful yellow and pure white roses in their hands

After them came the freshly cleaned and gleaming pink and black, Elita One. She walked gracefully down the aisle, her head held up high and she represented the image of a princess very well. In her hands, she carried gorgeous full in bloom pale pink and pure white roses.

It was both Annabelle and Delia to come down the aisle nest, both looking adorable in white matching dresses with bows in their hair. Accompanying them was Sarah, walking right behind them and telling them what they needed to do. They carried baskets full of rose and lily petals, which they ceremoniously grabbed by the handfuls and let them drop onto the aisle.

And finally, at the peak of the song, came Ratchet with Dawn standing right beside him.

Breaths were caught at the sight of her and her dress as she stood beside the Autobot CMO. No one could deny, not even the Decepticons, that Dawn looked beautiful as a young bride.

Her wedding gown was of pure white fabric, fitting her frame just fine before flaring out around her waist like an upside down white rose. Small but white embroidery of vines were done up in the fabric, spreading all around her and down the bell of her dress. Her sleeves were tailing off her shoulders, looking more like transparent fairy wings, spilling down from her thin straps and down her scarred arms, which she showed no fear or uneasiness of people seeing them. Her veil was of the same material but with a thin silver tiara with a line of pearl yellow gems gleaming and sparkling in the light. Her hair was done up in an elegant bun with small white baby breath flowers braided in it. And in hand, she carried a small boutique of long stem pure white lilies and brilliant yellow and orange spotted tiger lilies in the middle of a small bundle of white and pearl yellow roses.  
The look on Sideswipe's face plates when he saw Dawn was of pure glowing. He looked as if time had frozen all around him and in a way, it did for him. Nothing else mattered to him but just her. His glowing blue eyes softened and in a way to her, looked more like blue stars. They saw no one but each other, even as she walked down the aisle with Ratchet having carefully lift her up into his hand half way and made the rest of the way with her standing there.

"Dawn," The CMO spoke very softly as he went, making her merely glance at him. "Thank you for asking me to be a part of this. I feel as if I really am giving away my own for such a deal. You and the rest of the girls have become something extraordinary to myself, Optimus and the rest of the Autobots. And I don't think even the most lovely angel nebula constellation could ever beat how beautiful you look today."

Dawn smiled up at him, slight tears in her eyes but she forced them down. "Thank you, Ratchet. I am so glad you are the one giving me away. I am so happy that all of you came into my life and pulled me out of the darkness that I was in." She said softly.

Ratchet looked at her softly and smiled before looking up as he reached where Sideswipe and Optimus stood. He gently lift up a finger to touch Dawn's face before gently lifting her up so that his face was close to his. Dawn lightly tapped her own against his before she was carefully placed into Sideswipe's hand.

Smiling lovingly at each other, Dawn and Sideswipe turned to Optimus, who looked proudly at them.

"Friends, family, honored guests," The Prime began in a gentle voice, laced in pride. "We gather here today to honor and witness the uniting of two souls who found one another through the endless reaches of life. This is a day where it proves that no matter how long it may take, two halves of a soul will find one another. Of sparks and hearts unite, this is a day of the making of one."

And the words went on but the only thing that existed between the two were only each other. It was the only thing that mattered was each other.

Finally came the vows.

"Sideswipe, make your vow that you will hold to your very spark to your other half." Optimus finally spoke at the time.

Looking deeply at Dawn, Sideswipe smiled at her as he held her somewhat closer. "In all my existence, since the day I was sparked from the All Spark, I knew only war and an endless day of battle. I fought every day for eons without ever dreaming or thinking of finding someone like you, Dawn Jade Adams. I never thought I would find someone who makes me feel peace and tranquility as you make me feel. You re what I want to be. Kind, gentle, loving, pure. My Spark goes on with only you and as long as you live, it will continue to go on. My spark, my soul belongs only to you, Sunrise. You are the Dawn of my eternal peace. And I swear with all of my being, my life, my spark, I will love and cherish you as my sparkmate. I will protect you from all harm and any who threatens you, they will find what a true warrior can be. I take you as my sparkmate, Dawn Jade, and never will another take that from me or you." He promised.

Dawn smiled softly before her eyes lit up like many other humans had when a gentle glow came from directly of Sideswipe's chassis, where his spark was.

"Dawn Jade Adams, make your vow that you will hold to your very spark and heart to your other half." Optimus said gently to her.

Nodding to him, Dawn looked right into Sideswipe's blue glow and smiled. "For all my life, I was in the darkness. I had heard that soul mates existed but never believed it because of the things in my life. I was twirling in a pit of dark despair until you came, like a beam of pure light. You saved me from so much that you will never know. I was nothing until you came, Sideswipe. You gave me life when I felt I had none. You gave me a reason to be. You make me feel loved, secured, safe, and like I matter. From the moment I met you, I knew you were someone pure and gentle. From the moment you protected me from danger, I knew you would always be there for me. And now it is my turn. My heart and my soul, my very spark of life belongs only to you. And no other will ever take that away. I belong only to you and your spark and Primus and God knows that if any tries to take you from me, they will find that a human can be what they cannot handle. I love you, Sideswipe and from this day forward and as long as my soul exists, I will your other half and only yours."

And as she spoke those words, Dawn felt her heart warming up, beating and twirling as if it was a spark. She felt her very words reach out for Sideswipe's spark and felt as if someone had gently taken her heart into his hand to protect. She felt him. She didn't know how she did, but she could feel his spark touching her heart. She felt as if a warm blanket was shielding her from the coldness of life and despair, protecting her.

"By the word of Primus and the human God, let no one speak against this union of souls. As Prime, I shall name and pronounce that this union be complete as the sparks and hearts connect for the existence of them becoming one spark and two sparkmates." Optimus said proudly before motioning to Dawn and Sideswipe. "As they say in human terms, I prononce you mech and wife, sparkmates forevermore and let no one break such a tie. Sideswipe, Autobot Warrior, connect and be still with your wife and sparkmate." He then chuckled. "You may kiss the bride." He added and a few chuckles broke out with in the crowd.

Grinning, Sideswipe lift Dawn up in his hand leaning his forward towards hers, even as she leaned hers. They were nearly touching when...

"I object this union and abomination of life!"

Everyone jumped at the sound of a shout, the couple included. Heads whirled around to see who interrupted the most important part of the ritual and Eliza gave a very loud gasp as she jumped to her feet and covered her mouth in shock.

Dawn took one look at who rudely spoke against her marrying the one she loved and her soul longed for, and she too gasped in shock and alarmed.

There was a man standing right in front of the doors, at the end of the aisle. He was tall, in his early fifties. He wore a dark suit and even a darker look on his face. He had dark brown hair with silver at his temples and his eyes were a dark green. He was clean shaven yet he had a scar running across his cheek, like an angry burn had scorched his flesh.

And he looked livid that this was happening. A union and a human.

"I am sorry, but what?" Sideswipe asked, lowering Dawn a little.

"You!" Cole spoke up, her tone hard as she stood up and glared across the room at the man. She obviously knew him.

The man did not even look at her as he marched down the aisle, looking quite angry and annoyed. He walked past may gawkers right up to Eliza, glaring at her for a moment before looking at Dawn. "I will not allow this to take place. This is sick and wrong for a human to marrying an alien from another planet!" He said coldly. "I speak against this marriage and I will not allow it!"

Frowning, Optimus placed a hand onto Sideswipe's shoulder when he started growling. There was .threat if he and the others ever heard one.

But it was Keller who spoke as he stood up, frowning at the man. "I am sorry but I am afraid we don't know you. Who are you speak against this union?" He asked seriously.

"You do not have a say in this, Daniel." Eliza suddenly spoke up, ice layered in her tone as she finally got over the shock. It made many frown.

"The hell I don't, Elizabeth." The man, Daniel spoke just as cold as he turned to face her, his dark eyes flashing. "I will not allow Dawn to ruin herself by involving herself with an alien."

"Who are you?" Sunstreaker asked annoyed at the human.

But it was Dawn who spoke up, her tone just as icy as her mother's. "You gave up the right to speak on my behalf when you ran away with another woman, leaving my mother heartbroken and me feeling like a useless pile of scrap heap," she paused with a cold feeling. "Dad." She spat the final word as if poison in her mouth.

His name was Daniel Adams.


	36. Deadly Blow

There were gasps and cries of alarm as Dawn spoke that word, calling the man what he used to be to her, naming him as what he was. Everyone was stunned to learn who this man was.

Daniel Adams turned his dark gaze onto Dawn, who did not cringe away as some might. He did not look pleased whatsoever. "Dawn Jade, I am your father and you do as you're told. You get the hell away from that thing while I fix this! I will not allow you to ruin everything that I have made myself to be, tainting my name by marrying a creature from another world!" He growled.

Series of growls erupted from many Cybertonians, Autobots and Decepticons alike but Optimus shot them a look and held up his hand for everyone to calm down.

Eliza looked coldly at her ex-husband, shaking her head with a disgusted look on her face. "You do not have a say in who my daughter loves and chooses to be with, Daniel. As Dawn said, you gave that up when you left us. Now if you excuse us, we have a wedding to finish. You can see yourself out." She said coolly.

"Actually, no he can't." Keller said, looking serious. He looked over to a few soldiers and motioned to them forward. "Arrest Mr. Adams, gentlemen." He shook his head when people looked surprised and Daniel Adams looked coldly at him. "We didn't have a picture of you, but we had a name on the manifest. He is a Department Agent." He stated and there were cries of alarm.

But Daniel didn't look surprised. He just shook his head before stepping back away from the soldiers that approached him. "I will come quietly, Secretary Keller. Once I finished here." He said firmly before looking up at Dawn. "You're not marrying a different species, Dawn. I won't allow it."

Dawn gave him a dark look before placing a hand gently on Sideswipe's face to make him look at her. "Well, guess what? I just did." And with that, she turned towards him and tapped his forehead with her own before kissing it.

"Then I am sorry. I didn't want to do this." Daniel suddenly spoke up, already getting into the inside of his jacket for something, causing everyone to tense up. No one knew what he was going for but no one wanted to take the chance.

"No! Stop him!" Cole burst out as she quickly placed Slipstream into the nearest human's arms and bolted forward.

However, it was too late.

Dawn had turned to snap at her so called father, demanding to know what that he was talking about. She didn't care what it was but to hear it out...

And the gun shot rang through the hangar.

There was a deafening silence for a few seconds before everything seemed to move in slow motion. People jumped up, screams filled the air. The gun in Daniel Adams' hand went flying as Jazz snatched it with his magnetic pulsar. Daniel Adams hit the floor when Cole and the soldiers tackled him to it. The Autobots and Decepticons jumped, weapons whirling to life.

The President of the United States was engulfed by his body guards as they shoved him down to protect him from any further danger.

Eliza was screaming with tears springing to her eyes.

And all Dawn could do was stand there for a moment, looking wide eyed down at her so called father, surprised to have seen him pull a gun. And then she felt it.

Pain in her chest.

Looking down, Dawn felt her breath catch as she watched a horrible red begin to seep through her beautiful dress. She reached up to touch it before she looked at Sideswipe, who looked horrified with blood splatter across his face plates.

"Sides..." Dawn managed to say before she fell backwards off his hand. It went dark for her, but the pain was still there. She wasn't completely out of it yet.

"DAWN!" Several screamed or yelled in shock.

With lightning speed, Sideswipe lashed out and caught Dawn from falling, his spark painfully spiking. He heard a horrible screech of Cybertronian and it took a moment to even realize that it was himself as he fell to his knee guards, holding Dawn in his hands like a delicate baby bird.

Things really sped up after that. People were screaming and rushing out of the way as the Autobots moved to see what happened but stopped immediately as Ratchet waved them off as he quickly bent over Sideswipe, activating his scanner. He had a look of panic as he saw the damage before looking at Sideswipe. He tried speaking but his words were blurred to the Autobot Warrior, who seemed to be in a state of shock. He didn't acknowledge what was being said.

"Sideswipe! Give her to me! Now! I need to take her to my medbay!" Ratchet yelled as he reached out for her.

There was a threatening growl before Sideswipe lashed out and grabbed Ratchet's wrist in a painful grip. He had a look of madness, pain and rage in his optics, clutching Dawn close to his chest, even as blood trailed from his metal hand.

"Sides!" Sunstreaker cried out, reaching out through their twin bond. He felt Sideswipe shove out at him through their channels but he tried again. 'Sideswipe, my brother! It's me! It's Ratchet! We have to give Dawn to him now! He can save her!' He tried again.

There was reluctance before Sideswipe blinked and began to tremble violently. He shook his head before holding Dawn out to Ratchet, who carefully took her. "Su-Sunrise..." The silver twin spoke painfully before slumping over, clutching his chest. He looked as if he was in deep pain. And most of the Cybertronians knew he truly was. His eyes were flickering threateningly as he trembled and shook. He didn't even acknowledge his own twin brother as he dropped down behind him and clutched him around the chassis from behind, trying to comfort him. The sunny colored twin looked as if he was in pain, himself. And most figured out that he was probably feeling Sideswipe's pain through their twin bond.

"Groundhog! Nik! Jolt! Come with me! Now!" Ratchet barked before he was racing out of the room as fast as he could. The Decepticon medic bolted after him, skillfully avoiding stepping on humans while Jolt quickly scooped up Nik and was after them.

On the floor, Cole had gotten violent and was currently beating the living tar out of Daniel Adams. She was making sure her fist met every inch of his face before she was wrenched away from him by a soldier or two. She was swearing and spitting fire at the downed man, who was seized and cuffed.

"Why the fuck did you shoot her, you crazy son of a bitch?" Cole screamed at Daniel as she struggled to break free from the soldiers. She wanted nothing more than to just rip him a part with her bare hands. She wanted to kill him, make him suffer as he just as well had done to Dawn, Sideswipe and everyone that loved them. "She was your daughter!"

"Take him to the Brigg!" Optimus ordered immediately as he rushed to Sideswipe's side, hand on the shocked mech's shoulder. He looked him over, with great worry before he reached out and carefully picked up a hysterical Eliza and Delia, who were both in tears and screaming. "Eliza! Come with me! We will go to the medbay! Ironhide, Inferno! Help Sunstreaker bring Sideswipe! He won't be able to walk or roll himself! He has been hit with the pain of his sparkmate being severely injured! Whatever she is feeling right now, he is feeling it!"

The three Autobots nodded sharply and quickly moved to obey.

Daniel Adams, in a bloody mess, was yanked to his feet by two soldiers and was started being dragged away, only to pause when everyone found Sam, Trent, Mikaela, Elena, Rex and even Reno there, glaring hatefully at him, all with tears streaming down their cheeks. They looked like they seriously wanted to jump forward and do exactly what Cole had just done to him.

"You better pray Dawn lives after this, you mother slagging piece of scrap!" Sam snarled angrily. "Or else, you better hope you get a death sentence in a prison. Because if you don't, if Sideswipe or Sunstreaker don't get you..."

"I will." Came a cold voice interrupting what Sam was saying.

Everyone looked up to find a snarling Starscream glaring down at the human. His servos were curling and uncurling threateningly, like he was dying to use them to tear a human apart. "Autobots hold their oaths too proudly. Sideswipe may break his oath because it was his brand new sparkmate who was hurt. But Prime will not let him because you are human, insect. But myself and my Decepticons," the Seeker growled and was backed up by all of the Decepticons, glaring down at the human, all growling furiously. Every single one of them, even Soundwave was. Even his subordinates, who had been ejected the moment the terrible excitement began were growling threateningly at the human before them. "We don't share that promise. And you may have just killed one human who has not shown a single thread of hate or fear but respect for us when others hadn't. So if she dies, you better hope Primus has mercy on you and allows the humans to kill you. Because if we get a hold of you, you will not have a single bit of mercy from any one of us."

"You are dead, human scum." Nemesis Strika snarled down at Daniel.

"You just don't know it yet." Added Barricade coldly.

"All right, that is enough from you, lot." Ultra Magnus said, before reaching out and picking up the crying Rex to comfort him. He did not look like he was reprimanding the Cons though as he glared dangerously down at the human who may have killed one of the most important people in their lives. "Prowl, get that scrap heap out of here and into the Brigg. Everyone, clear out and go elsewhere. We will clean up here." He ordered and everyone moved to listen, while the soldiers dragged the so called Department Agent away. Even with hated glares following right after him.

Four hours in surgery.

That was how long it took for Ratchet to finally come out with an exerted Groundhog and Jolt. Nik was still in the medbay, watching over Dawn as she rested in an IC unit, hooked up to wires, a heart monitor and an oxygen tank.

Everyone was either in their rooms, trying to overcome the shock or some of them were in the waiting room. Eliza was rocking Delia to sleep in the corner. She looked horrible. Her hair was in a mess and her face was running with mascara and tears. She was not the only one. Mikaela, Elena and Anya were being held tightly by their boyfriends, who looked quite the mess their selves. Will was pacing back and forth, while Epps had made a coffee run with Monique, giving everyone steaming cups.

Optimus was currently propping up the wall with Elita One, Bumblebee and Spitfire, all looking horrible for giant metal beings. They couldn't believe this had happened right in front of them and they hadn't even had a chance to do anything about it. They couldn't believe they couldn't even have prevented it when they should have.

Even the President was still there, ignoring his body guards as they tried to coax him into leaving the base where it was safer and away from a total mad man who was in the Brigg, nursing himself after getting beaten by Cole like he had.

Starscream and Soundwave were there, having excused the others to recharge after the terrible excitement. They were completely silent, watching the Autobots and humans within the room.

But when the door was finally opened and Ratchet came out, everyone perked up their attention, looking hopeful.

"Ratchet?" Optimus asked softly as he pushed himself off the wall and moved closer. "How are they?" He added meaning both Dawn and Sideswipe.

Ratchet sighed heavily as he ran a hand across his helm as if wiping sweat off his brow. He looked exhausted from what had happened. "It is not good, Optimus. Three times we nearly lost her. Dawn has lost a lot of blood so we will need a blood transfusion from Eliza, as well as diluted Energon for the All Spark energy. I will have Wheeljack make up the Energon for that." He looked seriously at the Prime. "The bullet clipped her lungs. Nik and I managed to patch up the incision but there was enough blood in them to drown her. We had to pump it out quickly before it could kill her. I am thinking that wretched man had been aiming for her heart but it seems Jazz had managed to react in time to activating his magnetism. At some extent, anyway. In a way, he either saved her life or prolonged what will happen if we cannot stop the bleeding." He explained.

"But...sh-she's alive, ri-right?" Trent asked shakily.

Ratchet sighed again but shook his head. "Barely. She is in a coma right at the moment. The pain, shock and damage will not allow her to wake up. As it is, she actually should be dead. But I believe it is the All Spark energy inside of her that is keeping her going." He explained to everyone, sounding extremely weary for what he had to do for four hours.

"Will it save her? Can it not heal her like it does with us?" Elita One asked weakly.

Again Ratchet shook his head bit it was Groundhog who answered. "No. She isn't a Cybertronian. The energy is burning out as it is to keeping her breathing. But it can't seal the damaged areas or repair them like our internal repairing units can. If we can't find a way to help her, we will lose her." He said wearily.

Heads immediately fell and tears began to fall in grief. Optimus looked as if someone had dropped an invisible Cataclysm right on top of his shoulders and he was barely holding himself up. He staggered back until his back collided with the wall where he planted his head into his hands. "Primus, you cannot allow this to happen. Not to Dawn." He murmured into them, quite painfully. He did not look up even as Elita One wrapped an arm around him in comfort. The only thing he could do was lean into her, allowing her to try and comfort him.

"What about Sideswipe? How is he?" Spitfire asked, her voice strained.

"He is in deep recharge. I had to put him under. The moment he was brought in and he saw Dawn hooked up to the oxygen tank, he flipped out. He just broke down." Ratchet said wearily. "His spark is completely strained. After connecting with Dawn and having it suddenly take such deadly blow like that, it has taken a lot of damage." He looked at Optimus who looked pained to hear that. "There is no one more of knowing how that feels than Optimus."

Everyone looked at the Prime who shared a pained but weak look with Elita One. They knew very well what Ratchet was talking about.

"So what would happen if...if Dawn should..." Sam tried to ask but couldn't bring him to say it.

"If Dawn dies, Sideswipe will not be able to recover from the death." Ratchet said painfully. "He will follow her into eternal recharge right after her. And if that happens, we will more than likely lose Sunstreaker too. A life without his twin would kill Sunny as well."

There was a slam and everyone jumped to see that it had been, surprisingly, the President who did it. He had slammed his fist against his chair, looking out raged. "I have had enough of this." He said sternly before standing up and his guards quickly stood up to swarm him. He glared at them. "Oh, go blow it out of your butts, you four! Let me breath for five minutes!" He looked up at Optimus, frowning seriously. "I don't care what it takes, Optimus Prime. Even if you have to take extreme measures of pain, you get that psychopath and the rest of them that are still in your Brigg to talk about why Dawn Adams, where the Department has facilities and I want them shut down immediately! This bloody wild goose chase needs to end now. I will cut as many red tapes as I can for you to make it happen. But end the Department now." And with that said, he marched out.

Everyone stared after him, stunned by what just happened.

"Whoa. The President's pissed." Epps said whistling. "Not a great thing doing to the most powerful man on earth."

"And worse, the UN will back him up because of Dawn. Didn't she send several boxes of fresh baked cookies during last Christmas?" Will asked looking at Eliza who weakly nodded. He snorted and folded his arms. "Then the Department screwed their selves over by attacking Dawn."

Optimus sighed shaking his head as he stood up straight. "Everyone is clearly exhausted from this ordeal. We should get some rest and then try to figure what to do next." He said with exhaustion in his tone.

Ratchet shook his head as he started to turn away. "Not while I have a patient in an IC unit, Optimus." He said already going in. He, however, stopped when Optimus dropped a hand down onto his shoulder. "Optimus, I have to help..." he was saying.

"And you will after recharge, Ratchet. You will do Dawn or Sideswipe no good if you're so tired." Optimus said gently. "I know how you feel. Dawn is something special to all of us, as well as all of the children. It is killing my spark to know she is in such critical condition. But you know she will not want you running yourself ragged like this."

Groundhog nodded as he stepped forward. "I still have plenty of energy for three more hours, Ratchet. If you want, I can watch them while you rest." He told him.

Taking a deep breath, Ratchet knew they were right. He would be no good if he was so tired. So he would agree. "All right. Three hours and then I will take shift. Jolt, go get some rest, yourself. Everyone should." He said wearily.

Everyone nodded before heading off for their own beds. That was all they could do at the moment. Starscream, however, frowned before sharing a glance with Soundwave. They stared at one another before nodding with agreement. With that look, they knew what to do next. It was time to get someone talking.

The doors to the Brigg opened up, revealing the huge Decepticon. There was no one in the Brigg at the moment so it was okay. But Soundwave knew he would need to make it quick of what he was about to do. If someone walked in, there would be trouble.

Making his way to the cell, his red burning. gaze found the Agents resting on their berths. They looked up and jumped to see him.

"Oh, Christ Almighty." One of the agents murmured in fear.

Soundwave narrowed his glare right at the man who shot the girl, harming her. "Designation: Soundwave." He spoke in dead tone. "Fraction: Decepticons. Assigned mission by Decepticon Leader, Starscream: Interrogation of human scum designation: Daniel Adams."

There was a click and all of his subordinates fell out of place, landing in feral crouches as they looked at the growing nervously human before them.

"In other words," Rumble spoke, his vocoder cold before he punched a fist into his other hand, making a loud metallic snap. "Time to talk, humans."

"And believe us, you want to talk. We show no mercy." Ravage growled as he lift his claws and extended them threateningly.

"Dear god, we're going to die." The agent named Quincy moaned.

"Confirmation to attempting denial and refusing of interrogation: affirmative." Soundwave spoke coldly before sweeping down into a crouch so he could see the fear easier in the humans' eyes. "Question number one: Why did you shoot Dawn?" He growled.

It was getting late and she knew she should have gone to sleep. But she just couldn't. Not with everything that had happened. To have seen what that jackass did to his own daughter, Cole couldn't sleep.

So she went for a jog, leaving Slipstream sleeping in her room.

There was so many troubled thoughts running in her head. She couldn't believe she had even been a part of something so evil like the Department. She didn't know Dawn as well as everyone but she had seen enough that she was well loved by everyone. She was sweet, innocent, and maybe a little stubborn. But she cared about everyone. And everyone cared for her.

Dawn did not deserve such an act of violence against her like that. And it just added more hate for THOSE people, fueling the fire of fury within her.

Cole swore she was going to...she was going to...

It couldn't be helped. So much stress with running for her life, losing Sean like she had, and now knowing a young innocent girl would probably die because of the wicked people that she used to work for, it was just too much.

Cole felt the dam break again and tears began spilling down her cheeks. She slowed to a halt from her jog outside and she sank down onto her haunches, hands covering her face. Her body shook as she began to cry. She hated herself. She had been a part of the true evil one time and it hurt. So this was how all of those families felt when she was asked to kill an innocent who knew too much. This was the pain they had felt.

There had been that saying; Karma has a way of coming back to bite you in the butt.

Cole was sure feeling it now. She felt horrible for what she had done. She felt the guilt of each life she took. For helping the Department doing such evil. It killed her heart to think of it now.

Sinking down onto the ground, Cole buried her face into her arms, trembling as she cried for all of the memories. She knew that she was going to burn in Hell for what she had done.

Preoccupied in her own misery, Cole didn't even realize someone rather large had been approaching her. She couldn't hear those metallic thunks of heavy footfalls from over her own anguish.

That is until a pair of servos carefully and gently picked her up, startling her.

Her head jerking up, even as she rose into the air, Cole found soft red eyes trained on her. She stared up at him surprise as he readjusted her into his hand before sitting down on the ground, still holding her. "He-hey." Cole said before wiping her eyes with a flush of embarrassment. "This is embarrassing." She murmured, more to herself.

Starscream chuckled before shaking his head. "At least you're not getting human mucus on me." He stated.

Cole gave him a dry stare but couldn't help spare a weak smirk. "Hey, you picked me up, remember? If you don't like it, put me back down." She said lightly sarcastic. She shared a weak chuckle with the Seeker before she sobered up and her face fell as she sat on Starscream's hand.

"She will be fine. The Autobots have an annoying habit of making things go their way. They will find a way to save her." Starscream spoke up, thinking that was what was wrong.

Glancing up at him, Cole shook her head. "That's not why I am upset. I...I just...never mind." She stated.

"No. What is it?" Starscream pried.

Sighing, Cole lowered her head before drawing a leg close to her body and resting her chin on her knee. She didn't know what it was about this guy. She never felt like talking about her feelings but he honestly made her do it. "I was one of them. A Department agent. I did horrible things just like this. I received orders and followed them without thinking of how it would make others feel about it. I was...I am so cold and cruel just like the company. And now...after what has happened, I am starting to see how evil the Department is and how evil I was. It makes me wonder if or when I ever die, would I even...go to heaven? Or would I burn in hell like I should? It...it bothers me to think about it. To think of how all of those people I hurt and killed hurt their families and friends." She said softly, her eyes closing to keep the pain hidden away.

For a moment, there was only silence before a claw carefully picked at one of her long strands of hair and pushed it out of her face. Cole opened her eyes and gave the Seeker a curious look, who quickly retracted his claw and looked away.

Staring at him for a moment, Cole finally smiled faintly before looking away.

"You couldn't be evil even if you tried." Starscream said still not looking at her.

Again, Cole looked at him in surprise. She was taken aback by his words and it clearly showed. Because he looked back at her. "I have seen you with the sparkling. I have seen you protect the younglings. You over reacted when the femme, Dawn was harmed. Out of rage, you beat that man, who claims he is her creator." The Seeker said, his tone quite soft. "You are not evil. I would know if you were because I have done worse than you could ever imagine."

Staring at him, Cole shook her head. "You're not evil, Starscream. You might have done bad things but you were doing it for your planet. You were trying to save it from being destroyed. In truth, I think you are a hero, just fighting on the wrong side." She said with a shrug.

Starscream looked at her in surprise. He couldn't believe she had said that. "I have been called many things in my existence but that surely was not one of them." He admitted still stunned.

Smiling, Cole looked away, shrugging half heartedly. "That's because no one realizes it. You don't let them know. Maybe you should open up a little. And then they will understand." She spoke softly.

"Cliché, Miss Cole." Chuckled Starscream.

Cole glanced up at him before she lowered her head. "Still, I have seen you with Slipstream and even some of the kids. And what I see is not evil. You have a bad attitude but you're not bad." She told him.

Stascream smirked to hear that. He actually found himself proud to hear that remark. Especially coming from her. "You're not so bad, yourself. For a human." He added that last bit hurriedly.

Smirking, Cole shrugged. "Thank you for listening a little. I do feel better." She then yawned, feeling the night catching up to her. "Geez, I think it's time for bed bit I really don't want to go in." She said miserably.

"If you'd like, you can rest here." Starscream said before snarling at himself from within He was sure being stupid about this!

Her eyes drooping a little, Cole shrugged before leaning back against one of his fingers. "I think I will take you up that." she said wearily and closed her eyes. She smiled after a moment. "By the way, you have a pretty spark, Star." She said in a low voice, too tired to even register what she even murmured.

A moment later, she fell asleep, leaving a gaping Seeker staring at her.

For a long time, Starscream watched her sleep, his features softening. He carefully used his other hand to shift her so she was laying down and used it to keep her warm. He didn't even realize he was smiling softly down at her.

Until he felt his spark begin to reach out.

Only then did Starscream give a quiet sigh and he looked up at the stars high above him coming out. "Oh, slag. I've really done it this time." He murmured to himself. He finally carefully stood up and made his way towards the base, carefully his precious cargo hidden in his hand.

Along the way, he began cursing himself when he ended up running into three certain humans still walking about at night.

Reno, Keller and Martha Richards were just finishing up cleaning the main hangar, having sent everyone off to bed. But when the Seeker came in, they froze at the sight of him.

"Hey, Starscream." Prime's human partner greeted him with a raised hand. "What were you doing out there?"

For a moment, Starscream was torn in trying to figure out what to do. He knew what would probably happen if they knew who he had in his hand. It would either make these humans start threatening him or they would just stare at him.

But then he figured he just didn't care.

So Starscream, carefully removed his hand to reveal Cole sleeping. And as he did, he found the three humans stare at him in surprise.

"Cole." Martha gasped a hand covering her mouth. "Is she...?"

"She fell into recharge outside. I only thought it best to bring her inside so she doesn't get sick." Starscream said softly so not to wake her.

Reno and Keller glanced at one another before the old man reached out with his arms. "Here, I will put her to bed." He said cautiously.

"Eh, John, not to be rude, but you couldn't cause you have a bad back, remember?" Reno pointed out before he shrugged and did the same. "Here, I will take her." He said with a smile.

Starscream didn't realize he started growling a little until the two men stepped back with unease. Martha, however, found herself smirking before she waved them away. "Oh, stop it, you two. You move her from him, she will wake up. And then we will have problems." She then looked up at Starscream, waving at him to follow her. "Come on, boy. Bring her this way and we will put her to bed." She told him.

His eye ridge raising, Starscream moved to listen, glancing down at the two men staring up at him. He couldn't help but smirk at the sight of them giving him quite the looks.

'At least the femme creator is on my side with this.' Starscream merely thought to himself.

Following Martha, the Seeker found that the two were walking behind him, watching him carefully. He frowned deeply but paid no mind to them. He just walked up to the human hangars, pausing when he couldn't go any further.

Martha turned in the somewhat smaller door way, smiling up at him. "Well, aren't you coming?" She asked almost slyly.

Huffing, Starscream bent over and carefully set Cole onto his wing before as quietly as he could, transforming and shifting into his jet form. He was surprised he even managed to do it without waking Cole up.

Once transformed, he activated his human form, who then carefully lift the sleeping femme into his arms. Again he was surprised she didn't wake up.

Instead, once she was in his arms, she shifted closer to him, curling up in his arms.

Sighing again, Starscream turned and followed an amused Martha Richards and two rather suspicious men into the human barracks. He tried to ignore them but it wasn't easy.

Finally coming to Cole's room, Martha opened the door quietly for the Seeker and motioned to the bed, where the sparkling was still sleeping. "Put her there, young mech." She told him.

Again, Starscream raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a skeptical look. "You do realize that I am a lot older than you by hundreds of years, right?" He asked quietly but moved forward to carefully set Cole onto her bed.

"Yes, I do realize that. But I look at you and I don't see old. In human years, you're no older than Cole is." Martha replied softly with a smile as she folded her arms.

Starscream set Cole down before pulling the covers over her and Slipstream, who curled up against her as if sensing that her mother had returned. He couldn't help but smile softly at the sight before fixing a hard look on his face as he turned and walked out.

Stopping just outside the door, Starscream found Reno and Keller staring him down, serious looks on their faces. He frowned right back, listening to the light click as Martha closed the door. "What?" He asked impatiently.

Keller shook his head as he folded his arms. "Starscream, if you hurt my daughter in any way, physically or emotionally, I will do everything in my power to make sure you are blown to bits where there is no more pieces left of you." He warned before turning away and marching off.

Starscream could only stare after him before looking at Reno, who smirked at him. "Huh?" He asked inwardly kicking himself for such an unintelligent remark.

Reno just shook his head. "He means, if you break her heart, we will kill you. You better not play with Cole, got that, Decepticon. She has had too much shit in her life to survive whatever you do to her. So do not get involved with her and then have intentions to hurting her later. Because if you do, what Ironhide could do to you would be a mercy killing." It was his turn to warn him before he walked off.

Staring wide eyed after him, Starscream finally let out a long sigh and reached up to rub his head. "Oh, slag. I really have done myself in." He murmured before looking up when Martha patted his arm.

"Don't worry, son. I'll keep them off your back. But just as long as you really don't hurt her. I already lost my other baby girl. I don't want to lose my last one. So please be gentle with her." She told him before walking off, herself.

Again, Starscream sighed, glancing at the door behind him. "Fragging pits. I am in trouble." He murmured before he switched off his holoform.

A moment later, the sound of jet engines were leaving the base for a might flight. A good run in the sky always let the Seeker think clearly.

"Optimus, you really should get some rest." Elita One spoke from their berth, watching her sparkmate as he stood at the window staring out into the night.

Sighing, Optimus shook his head before hanging it low. "I cannot sleep with so much on my processor, Elita. To think of what has happened. I cannot even think of what to do next. How are we going to help Dawn or Sideswipe? It's killing me to know this has happened." He said heavily before walking over and sinking down on the berth, head in hands. "I was right there, Elita. I should have stopped him. I could have..."

"You couldn't have done anything in time, Optimus." Elita said softly as she rest her arms on his shoulders. "None of us knew he would have done something like that to his only child. We didn't know he would have been cruel enough to shooting her."

"But..." Optimus was saying.

Elita shook her head before pulling at him to laying down beside her. "Recharge, sweetspark. Think of it in sleep mode. Perhaps Primus may show us the way. But you must rest. Dawn wouldn't want you of all people to run yourself ragged." She told him firmly.

Optimus smiled softly before he reached up and gently touched her face plates. "You're right. As always." He then glanced her over before his eyes fell. "I really wish I could give you a sparkling, love. You would make such a perfect femme creator." He told her.

Smiling down at him, Elita shook her head before laying down, resting her head against his shoulder. "You make a wonderful father to the younglings already, Orion Pax. So don't sell yourself short. Now rest." She told him before shutting herself down.

Smiling softly Optimus flickered his optics off and slipped into recharge...

And then found himself opening his eyes to a brilliant golden light.

Stiffening, Optimus looked around with bewilderment. He didn't understand. Did he mot just fall into recharge, next to Elita One? Where was he? How did he get here? Where was here, anyway?

"What...?" The Prime asked in surprise before looking around.

The area all around him was beautiful and quite familiar. It looked awfully like...but it couldn't be. This couldn't be Cybertron. Cybertron was not light like this. It was a dark husk of metal now. It was dead. It was...was that a spark floating by?

Optimus eyed the drifting blue and white lights all around him, stiffening. These strange anomalies looked awfully like sparks. But they couldn't be. He watched as one deep blue glowing light floated towards him before colliding with his chest. It squeaked before darting away.

And then came a rumbling laugh.

"I think he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. That one always thinks too hard as he goes. He runs into me too." Came a voice from behind him.

Optimus spun around and his eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Or who he was seeing. This...this just wasn't registering to him. But...

"Primus." Optimus breathed in awe.

"Hello, Optimus Prime. Welcome to my realm. I think it's time we had a talk." The brilliant silver God spoke warmly.


	37. Given Hope

Someone was pounding on his door, knocking furiously and trying to wake him up. It went on for a long time before Sam decided to get up to see who was making such a racket.

Yawning, Sam went to his door and pulled it open before yelping when Will grabbed him and pulled him out. "Wi-Will! Wh-what's going on?" He cried, half yawning as he was forced to run in his bare feet, dressed only in a t-shirt and boxers.

"No time, Sam! Optimus has called an emergency meeting for all personnel, Autobots and even the Decepticons!" Will said hurriedly. He too seemed to have been pulled from bed because he was wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt. "Something has happened and he wants to see all of us! You, especially!"

"Me? Why?" Sam asked before horror gripped him. "Is it Dawn? Is she...?"

Will shook his head as he ran with the young man. "I don't think so! I think she is still in a coma but okay, for the most part! Optimus wouldn't tell anyone anything! He doesn't want to repeat it! Come on! Let's move!"

Together they ran until they reached the Intelligence Command Center, which was brimming with activity. Everyone seemed to be there. All of the Autobots, Decepticons, the young adults, the soldiers. Even Keller and the President was there, whom hadn't left yet.

Optimus was at Teletraan, clicking furiously at the keyboard and pulling up series of files from the Department. Pictures, maps, the strange coded files, almost everything.

The IT staff, human and Autobot were right next to him, telling him where he could find certain files. Soundwave was even hovering over his shoulder, speaking quietly to him.

"What's going on? It's four o'clock in the morning! Why did someone come wake me and my kid up so flipping early?" It was Cole who demanded, rocking Slipstream as she fed on Energon.

"Forgive me, everyone. But it was necessary." Optimus said hurriedly. He spotted Sam and quickly offered his hand to him. "Sam! Come here! I need you to look these over!"

"Wh-what? How am I suppose to help? I don't know how to read that high tech stuff!" Sam protested but hurried over anyway.

"Optimus, what is going on? Why'd you wake us all up?" Jazz asked, not able to stifle a huge yawn.

Optimus shook his head as he shared a glance with Elita One before turning to face everyone. He made sure everyone was there before he would get started. "Everyone, I know what to do now. I know how to save Dawn and Sideswipe." He immediately jumped to it.

"What?" Nearly everyone yelped before bursting into multiple questions.

"How, Optimus? How can we save them?" Ratchet asked quickly.

Optimus shook his head and held up his hands to silence everyone. He waited till the questions died down before he stood up tall. "Last night, when I went to recharge, I was summoned by Primus." He said and paused when there were gasps. He waited for a moment for the bursting questions but everyone kept quiet to listen to him. He just nodded, his eyes twinkling a little. "Primus told me what to do. He told me the answer lies with the Navigator." He explained before motioning to Sam.

And then he began to explain his experience.

Hours before...

Optimus couldn't help but gape at the brilliant silver god before he remembered his place and swept down to one knee in respect. "Primus, God of Cybertron!" He breathed, ducking his head low in reverence.

Primus chuckled but reached over, placing a hand on Optimus' shoulder. "Optimus Prime, my chosen child to carry my name, please rise. There isn't need for groveling. And there is no time. I have seen what has happened and it troubles me." He stated.

Frowning as he stood up, Optimus shook his head. "Why did that happen to Dawn? Why did you allow that to happen?" He asked painfully.

Primus sighed, his features saddened. "That was not suppose to happen, Optimus. It was not my intentions for Dawn to be harmed like that. If I could have prevented it, I would have." He held up his hand to halt Optimus' next question. "Even Gods cannot do everything, Optimus. There are things that God cannot interfere with. And I certainly could not see this coming. I did not even know it was happening until I heard the All Spark screaming. It was too late for me to even try. Now, Optimus, we do not have time for so many questions. Except the one. Ask the one question you want to ask the most."

For a moment, Optimus pondered what to ask before he stood up straighter, a firm look on his face plates. "Can you save her now? Heal her and Sideswipe?" He asked immediately.

Primus studied him for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I cannot." He smiled faintly when Optimus looked crestfallen. "But I know of a way that can." He added softly.

Perking up straight, Optimus felt his spark spike up with anxiety and hope. "How?" He asked hurriedly.

"By finding the All Spark and Alpha Trion, Optimus Prime." Primus told him and nodded when Optimus looked surprised. "Alpha Trion has more abilities and skills than you even realize. He, alone, can save Dawn. But you need to find him. You are running out of time. If you do not find him soon, all hope is lost. For this world I tried to protect at the beginning of time and for your future. For the humans and all of my children. Unicron is approaching Earth, Optimus. And if he reaches the planet, all of its life will be destroyed. You must stop The Fallen before it is too late. He knows of the All Spark's location and he is going for it as we speak. If he gets to it before you do, he will destroy it and all hope you have."

"But how can we find it in time? We do not know where to even look." Optimus said with a sigh.

"Yes, you do. I already have given you the chance to figure it out, Optimus. You have the Navigator with you. Allow him to see what you cannot." Primus said firmly.

Optimus frowned in confusion. "Navigator...?" He started before his eyes lit up in realization and he breathed sharply. "Sam! Sam is the Navigator! But how..."

Primus just looked him right in the eyes. "Exactly. You must allow him to look for you, my son. He will know where to find your path." He then placed a hand onto his shoulder. "Optimus, you know what to do next. Act now. Before it is too late. You know who the spy is. But what you don't know is there are three of them. You must stop all three of them before matters get worse." He told him.

"But who are the other two? I only know of the Department spy." Optimus said frowning.

Primus smiled before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, one has a big mouth and he is who has been giving out the information to the media. You know who it is. The spy of Unicron, however, is not yours to punish but the Master Spy's, himself. Have him stop the bugs, Optimus. Or The Fallen and Galvatron will know you are coming." He told him before lightly pushing at him.

Optimus felt like he was now falling backwards and it sent him jolting upward again with the last words of the God echoing in his audio receivers. "Good luck, my son. You are going to need it."

Jumping up into a sitting position, Optimus heard Elita One yelp as she was thrown off of him onto the berth and he immediately apologized to her before getting to his feet. He immediately sent a transmission to his inner circle, telling them to wake everyone up.

Now...

"Spy? Who are the slagging spies?" Ironhide growled his weapons whirling to life furiously. He was not the only one.

Many of the Autobots began to activate their cannons but only one noticed how a certain human cringed, his head going lower than his shoulders, even as he kept his back to everyone. Optimus looked directly at him, and eyes followed before several gasps broke out, before some growled threateningly! Making the media spy cringe even lower with fear and regret.

"You know, I am actually not surprised it was you." It was Simmons growled, glaring at the man beside him.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean too! I just...I just wanted to be famous, people! That's why I even started snooping through Government files and stuff!" Leo cried out, weakly.

"Leo! Are you freaking kidding me?" Sam snapped, glaring at his college roommate. "You're the reason we are even in the media in the first place!"

Leo dropped his head and he sighed before looking up at Optimus. "I know. I am sorry! I couldn't help it! But at least I tried to make it up by helping with the files!" He said pitifully.

Optimus just nodded. "No more speaking to the media without permission, Leo. We cannot allow it to happen again." He told him, softly. He received another nod from Leo.

"So what about the Minicon Spy? Which Decepticon do we get to frag up?" Hot Rod growled, punching a fist into his other hand as he glared at the Decepticons and was glared right back at.

"Soundwave." Optimus said seriously and many stiffened as did the Decepticon Communications Officer. No one was prepared for this and they honestly did not to face the lumbering..."Let him out and let is end this." The Prime said as he lashed out an arm and his energy sword slipped into his hand.

Nodding, Soundwave tapped his chest to eject the mini, who shot out like a bat out of hell. It was obvious that the small mech had heard everything because he broke into small pieces and started fleeing.

"Reedman! Stop!" Starscream snarled as everyone jumped into action to stop the Insecticons. He was ignored, however.

Reedman's many pieces began rolling around as quickly to avoid being caught or stepped on. A shrill metallic ringing began to sound, making many flinch and the alarms began going off.

"Unauthorized transmission being subjected. Coded Decepticon language and beacon is being transmitted." Teletraan spoke up.

Suddenly there was a low electric pop, followed by a shrill screech as the small metal beads halted right where they were other than writhing in agony. It surprised all but no one questioned what happened because they knew. They knew because of the cold, emotionless expression on Soundwave's face plates as he approached the Insecticons.

"Result of treasonous actions to Decepticons and Allies: termination." The large Con remarked before he simply lift his foot and brought it slamming down right on top of Reedman with a loud crunch. "That is what happens to traitors on my watch." He added with a growl before turning sharply and leaving the broken pieces of metal and sparking wires.

"Eh...I don't think I ever want to piss him off again." Cheetor remarked weakly as he huddled behind Ultra Magnus.

"Duh." Skywarp remarked sarcastically before looking around at everyone.

"Now what about the Department spy?" Will asked, his tone dead.

Optimus looked seriously at him before shaking his head. He knew no one was going to be surprised about this one. But then again, they just might. He turned around and looked right at the door just as the man entered. "Soundwave, seize him." He said coldly.

The Communications Officer nodded sharply and two of his tentacles lashed out, wrapping around the yelping Department spy.

"Wh-what? Unhand me right this instant, you despicable creature!"

"Galloway! Shut your mouth, right now!" Keller snapped, his eyes glaring cold.

"I will complain...!" Liaison Galloway was yelling.

"Complain away, Theodore." The President, himself said coldly stepping into view, his hands folded behind his back. "Secretary Keller has already informed me of your treason."

Galloway's face paled and he shook his head as he clutched at the tentacles wrapped around him. "I...I don't know what you mean, sir..." he was saying.

But Optimus slammed a fist down on Teletraan's counter, causing it to dent and crack. His blue eyes blazing with fury. "You are the reason Dawn was shot, Galloway!" He snapped before he sharply tapped a key on Teletraan's keyboard and a Department file popped up; picture of Galloway and all. An audio clip even began playing.

"This Agent Teddy, reporting in. We have a situation. It seems that the enemy is gathering numbers. The creatures' enemies called the Decepticons have joined them. And there is a problem with Agent Adams' sole living daughter. She has disgustingly involved herself with one of the aliens. Betraying her humanity by falling in love..." the clip sharply cut off as Optimus stopped it.

Turning to glare at Galloway, The Prime balled up his fists, looking like he wanted to use them. "We found that call being purged from your own land line, Galloway. Did you not think that because it was a land line phone that Teletraan wouldn't have picked it up?" He asked, his voice very hard.

"You called the Department and they sent Daniel Adams to either stop Dawn from marrying Sideswipe or eliminate the problem." Cole said coldly from where she was still rocking Slipstream. "That's how the Department works. Find a problem and destroy it."

"We also caught Soundwave interrogating the Agents." Red Alert said with a frown aimed at the Decepticon. "Not exactly our methods but it worked."

Everyone stared at him before looking at Soundwave, who did not look surprised. The President raised an eyebrow but shook his head. "Did any one die?" He asked the Decepticon.

Soundwave merely shook his head while Red Alert snorted. "No, he didn't have to touch any of them. Not even Daniel Adams, whom I believe as you humans say, he pissed his pants. The Con downright scared him by the way he looks and talks." He said with amusement.

There were a few chuckles and snorts from everyone.

"Soundwave, what did you find out?" Optimus asked seriously.

The large Decepticon merely glanced at him before tapping his chest and an audio began to play. "I...I di-didn't want to do it! I really didn't! But they were my orders and what she was doing was betraying...!" Daniel Adams' voice came out.

"By falling in love in with someone!" Came the snarling voice of Ravage, followed by growls that sounded very like Soundwave's subordinates. "That is like a white girl falling in love with a black guy and a raciest bastard has a problem with it!"

"It is not the same thing, creature! He isn't even human!" Agent Adams snapped back. "You don't belong here! None of your kind does! This is not your world, monsters! You think you can come here and invade us without us fighting back! Steal our women and everything!"

"Dude, we don't care about your women." Came Rumble's dry statement. "The problem is with your kind is, not everything is about you. You always think you have to smash a bug without thinking it might helping. When in fact, the problem might be you! We don't see some the humans here going around, killing their daughters for falling in love with other people of different races! They either disown 'em or get over it! Not shoot an innocent girl who is loved by nearly everyone just because she fell in love with another person from a different planet!"

"As it is, you gave the rights to speak of Dawn's wellbeing when you walked out on her!" Snarled Ravage again. "Our kind would never do that to our own offspring! NEVER!"

"Affirmative. The only one who had the right to speak out against it was Eliza Boyd, her mother." Soundwave's cold voice spoke up. "And she didn't. You could have killed your own blood because you were selfish to understand."

"You mean...she isn't dead?" Came the stunned reply by Daniel Adams followed by shouts, that surprised everyone.

Those voices were not the subordinates. Or Soundwave. Those were the voices of the other agents.

"You, pig! You shot another human being? And worse, your own daughter?"

"You fucking moron!" Another yelled.

"I was ordered by the Department..." Agent Adams tried to defend himself.

"You know what? Orders shmorders! Since I even joined the Department, everything has gone to shit! I had to leave my wife and kids because I joined up with them! I had to pretend to be dead! And I even went to my own funeral and saw my whole family crying for me! All because of what? Because there was aliens threatening our planet? So far, the only aliens I see as a threat is this one! Who is only trying to speak on the behalf of YOUR daughter that you tried to kill! Who is human!" One of the agents yelled, angrily. "The Department said we were saving the world! And if that means killing innocent girls, screw that! I have had enough of this shit! Hey, you! Big alien guy! You want information about the Department, come talk to him! He knows...ow!"

There was the sounds of struggles before the slamming of flesh and grunts.

"Freddricks, try that again, and I'll kill you! Don't you ever lay your hands on my partner again!" Snapped an agent.

"What exactly happened in there?" Optimus asked, looking disturbed like everyone else.

Soundwave stopped the audio clip and looked around at everyone. "The Department Agent Freddricks tried to strangle Agent Marshall, halting him from speaking against him." He explained. "Agent Quincy simply sucker punched Freddricks, re-breaking his nose to defend his partner."

"Did you question him?" Keller asked seriously.

Soundwave nodded simply. "He refused to answer no matter what tactic I used. He will need to be re-questioned when he wakes. Agent Marshall sent him into forced recharge after he tried to attack Agent Quincy." He informed them.

Keller nodded before looking at the President. "Might I suggest bring DSS in to take over interrogating the Department agents? If Freddricks refused to talk to an intimidating alien, perhaps he will talk to one of them. I suggest the toughest agent they have. Isn't that Luke Hobbs?"

The President huffed with an amused smile as he nodded. "That SOB even scares me. I will have him brought in immediately to question the Department Agent. I swear his paps gave him steroids as a baby to beef him up like he is." He looked up at Optimus. "Don't worry about the agents, Prime. We have that one covered."

Optimus nodded before looking at Galloway, who had thought he had been forgotten about and was trying to struggle out of Soundwave's grip. "What of our Liaison?" He asked reminding them.

"Oh, yeah. Him. Theodore," The President paused before huffing. "Your fired and you will be tried and sentenced to a long time in prison if I have anything to say about it. Soundwave, hand him over to the MP and they will see him to the Brigg. When Luke Hobbs gets here, he can question him too."

Galloway looked horrified to hear that but no one paid much attention to his opinion about it.

Instead, everyone's attention was immediately on Sam when he gave a triumph yell and threw a fist into the air. "I got it! I know where the All Spark is! And Alpha Trion! They're in the same place! If not just thirty miles away from each other!"

"Where, Sam?" Will asked hurriedly.

Sam grinned before he turned to Teletraan and clicked at the keyboard. He waited till a map showed up and everyone gaped at the screen in surprise. "People, pack your hiking books, machetes, and insect repellent. We're going to the Congo Rainforest. And let's hope there isn't any super killer white gorillas there. Or try not to piss of Donkey Kong."

"The Congo? You have got to be kidding me." Keller asked before groaning. "I guess I better get the Democratic Republic of Congo on the phone to see if we can be cleared to go in their jungle. And hope they are not Department infested. They're not going to like this one."

"Actually they might if you talk to the African President." The President said with a sly smile. "He's actually been bugging me about meeting the Autobots. He is actually quite fond them after the World wide revelation of them."

"Well, I guess they will be meeting them then." Reno said smirking.

"Apparently so." Optimus said with a chuckle. But then he sighed as he looked over to Ratchet. "Ratchet, unfortunately, we have no choice but to take Dawn with us. Primus made it very clear that if we don't get her to Alpha Trion and the All Spark, she will die. The sooner we get her there, the better."

Looking passive, Ratchet nodded and started to head towards the door. "I will prep her for transportation. But that will mean whoever carries her cannot be a part of any battles if there any." He warned.

Groundhog raised a hand. "I can carry her. I prefer not being in fights as it is. It's always bugged Barricade but I hate fighting." He said.

Ratchet nodded. "Very well then." He stated before motioning to him to follow, with Nik trailing after.

Optimus looked over at Soundwave and Jetfire, knowing they could probably help out with the next problem. "Soundwave, Jetfire, how soon can you have a Ground Bridge going?" He asked seriously.

Glancing at one another, the two large Decepticons looked back at him. "We can have a stable one going by night fall. It will still be dangerous for travel but it won't be rushed like last time we used one." The Ancient told him.

Optimus sighed. "That's still too long away. We need to be in the general within two hours..."

"Suddenly there was a loud crackle and everyone jumped when they heard it. A powerful gust of wind was blowing within the room and it startled everyone.

There was a very familiar tunnel of sparks and energy right before them.

"Did someone say they needed a Ground Bridge? You have one hour to be through it, my chosen. That is how long I can even interfere." Someone said, who didn't seem to be there.

That was a voice that Optimus and Sam seemed to know the most and they couldn't help but smirk at each other. They knew exactly who it was. "Thanks, Primus." Both said at the same time.


	38. Jungle Rumble

Immediately, everyone jumped into action. They had one hour to be through the Ground Bridge, so they needed to move fast. The soldiers scrambled to get in their uniforms while the young adults scrambled to their rooms to get dressed. Not everyone would be going, however. They couldn't leave the base unguarded. So only a handful was going. There had a few arguments about who was staying and who was going. Particular some of the young ones.

"Why can't I go, Magnus? I want to help!" Rex argued with his Guardian and Epps.

Epps shook his head as he loaded up his automatic rifle as quickly as he could. "We're going into a war zone, Rex! It's too dangerous!" He said impatiently.

"But...!"

"Rex," Ultra Magnus interrupted, looking down at him softly. He bent down to one knee and gently placed a massive finger on top of his shoulder. "It's too dangerous. I cannot protect you there. We need to move fast to safe guarding the All Spark and Alpha Trion. And save Dawn and Sideswipe. As it is, I need you to help protect the base. Elena, Anya, and Mikaela are staying and they will need someone here to be with them. Sam and Trent are going for other reasons. Sam has the Knowledge of where the All Spark and Alpha Trion are located. Trent is going to help Nik and Groundhog with Dawn."

Epps nodded as he set down his gun and he placed his hand on Rex's other shoulder. "Monique is staying too, Rex. And I need you to be the man of the house while I'm gone. I need you to look after her, protect her. Because, I cannot be there to do that." He told him before pulling him into a hug. "Rex, you are my son now. You are Ultra Magnus' son. We need you to be brave and be strong for them. Now please, drop it and stay here."

Rex heaved a heavy sigh but nodded as he returned the hug. He didn't want to listen but he would. For them and the girls.

"I really hate this, Will." Sarah told him, her voice full of sadness and anxiety. "You going off into the jungle to fight and face indescribable dangers and I'm left here, wondering if you are ever coming back. Alive."

Will paused in packing his soldier back pack, looking at her. He knew she was worried. She was always worried about him when he was doing all of this. Fighting the Decepticons and now fighting the Department. It must have been making her want to go crazy thinking about what dangers he was going head first into. He knew that. But he also knew that if he didn't fight, things would just get worse.

Walking over to her, he held her close. "I am coming back, Sarah. You know very well that I am one tough SOB. Plus I will have Ironhide watching my back. And no one gets past him." He told her.

Sarah sighed but held her husband. "You better be careful."

Watching his brother getting ready to go, Dallas Banes could not help but shake his head. He couldn't believe this. Neither could Tricia but she stopped trying to argue with Reno ten minutes ago. She never could win an argument with her brother in law.

But Dallas on the other hand...

"You're not a soldier any more, Reno. This is too dangerous for you. You're not going."

Reno gave his brother a look as he put a few things in a hip bag for himself. He was getting tired of arguing about this. Especially from his slightly older brother. "Dals, don't even start. I have been helping Optimus and the Autobots for a good while now. I have fought the Decepticons before. I know what I am doing. So drop it." He told him firmly.

Dallas shook his head as he went over and grabbed Reno's shoulder, pulling him to face him. "Reno, this isn't a game like Halo or God of War or any of those stupid video games you play! This is not a war game you can hit reset to! You will die if you go!" He said his voice raised.

"Do you think I don't know that, Dallas!" Reno argued back, pulling from his older brother. "I have seen death and destruction already but I am not letting Optimus fight this alone! You don't know what they have been through or have seen! They need all of the help they can get and I will help! I am not a kid any more, Dals! I can fight and I will!"

"This isn't our fight, Reno." Dallas said, trying desperately to change his brother's mind.

Reno just shook his head, grabbing his pack with a grumpy look. "Dallas, the Autobots are family now. They saved my life and your daughter's. They are protecting us. The Decepticons threatened us and now some of them are fighting against their own. The Department might as well have killed a very important person to us. I am going to do what I can." He told him.

Sighing heavily, Dallas shook his head. "Don't die or I will hate you." He told him seriously.

Reno chuckled as he lightly punched his brother's shoulder. "Hey, I got Optimus Prime as my partner. I ain't dying any time soon." He said before shouldering his pack and saluting Dallas. "See ya when I get back."

Finally, everyone was gathered in the main hangar, in front of the Ground Bridge.

The Autobots going was going to be Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Bumblebee, Hot Rod, Jazz, Sideswipe; whom looked terrible and looking rather unresponsive, Sunstreaker Cheetor, and Elita One. The rest were staying behind to guard the base. Cole had asked Chromia if she could watch Slipstream, since she was staying. The icy blue femme had no problem with it whatsoever.

All of the Decepticons were going, despite some of the protests that were given. Starscream made it clear that if The Fallen was going after the All Spark, he and the Decepticons wanted to be there to pay him and Galvatron for what they did to them. Even Jetfire was going.

The humans going were to be Will Lennox, Epps, Reno, Sam, Trent, Vladimir, Nik, and of course, Cole.

As it was, Dawn had been loaded up carefully into Groundhog with Nik beside her and strapped down snuggly. Everyone watched her sadly and Eliza was crying again. But everyone glanced at Sideswipe, who whimpered painfully as he watched her. He was clutching his chest as if it was giving him pains and leaning heavily on Sunstreaker, whom did not complain for once at the scratches and scrapes he was getting from it. He looked as if he was in pain as well.

"Prowl, you are in charge. We will keep an open channel with Teletraan at all times. You will be kept informed of everything." Optimus said seriously before turning towards the bridge. He took a deep breath before stepping forward. "Autobots, Decepticons, and human allies, it's time." He looked at everyone. "We know not what is on the other side of the bridge, so be prepared for anything. We could step right into a battle or perhaps not. But keep your sensors wide open."

Everyone nodded as they prepped their weapons. They were ready. It was time to save Dawn and Sideswipe and end the struggle with the Department once and for all.

And to add it all, to soothe the growing tension, Jazz kicked on his radio system, playing Highway To Hell by ACDC. It caused a few chuckles or huffs of amusement by everyone. The tension was definitely lighter.

But after an amused glance from Optimus, Jazz cut the music and everyone looked serious again. "It's time. Let's go." The Prime said and the entire group towards the tunnel.

"Optimus," a meek voice called out and the Prime turned his head, looking down at Eliza. She still had tears in her red eyes but she looked determined. "Save my baby girl. Protect her and my son." She told him, nodding to Sideswipe.

The Prime nodded firmly before turning and lead the group into the Bridge.

There was a powerful pull and everyone going through was sucked into the tunnel. Ironhide and Barricade were staying right beside Groundhog's vehicle form, making sure he stayed steady so not to jostle Dawn within. Everyone was expected to be thrown through the tunnel like the last one, but it surprised them that they had enough control to just drive or walk through. Primus's Ground Bridge was definitely a whole lot more stable than the one that Optimus and Jetfire had tried to open up nearly two years ago. It wasn't a smooth ride but it wasn't terrible either. It allowed them to travel with only a few bumps along the way...

Right into hell, just like what Optimus thought.

There was an explosion nearby as they found their selves walk right into a battle taking place, causing everyone to yelp or cry out in surprise.

It took just a moment to glance around to see that there were Decepticons and Sweeps running all over the place, actually attacking one another. A massive Cybertonian was swinging around with its large head, shooting off at Sweeps that were attacking it. Its massive claws lashed out and slammed into a few, knocking them from the air but missing a fair proportion.

Starscream and his Decepticons stiffened at the sight before looking at Optimus when he swung around to face them.

"Starscream, who is that? Do you know what's going on?" The Prime asked hurriedly.

"That's Devastator! The Constructicons' combination form! Why they're being attacked by the Sweeps I don't know! Perhaps they pissed off Scourge and his Sweeps! They never could get along!" The Seeker had to yell over the loud explosions. He looked over at Groundhog, who was already moving behind everyone. "Groundhog! Get to cover!"

Optimus nodded as he quickly took action. He looked directly at Sunstreaker and Hot Rod, who were staying right by Sideswipe and the humans. It was kind of depressing to see that even in the heat of battle, the silver twin didn't look so good. He didn't even perk up but stare at the ground, looking pained. "Sunstreaker, Bumblebee, get Sideswipe and the younglings to safety with Groundhog!" He looked directly at Cheetor next. "Cheetor, quickly run and find somewhere for them to hide until this is over! The rest of you, prepare for battle! We need to find out what is going on here!" He ordered.

Everyone nodded and quickly moved to obey. Soundwave had even ejected Ravage and ordered him to help Cheetor. So both robotic felines raced off as fast as they could to find shelter in the jungle before them.

Keeping as low as they could, and still, the Autobots and Decepticons waited till the two felines returned and lead the young humans and the Cybertronians out of harm's way. Even the older humans were asked o take cover, though they did it with protest.

When Groundhog, Sideswipe and the humans were out of the battle field, it was time to jump in.

Optimus looked quickly to Starscream. He knew this wasn't going to be easy, but it was the first real battle to working with the Decepticons, that didn't involve humans from the Department. "Starscream! Are you willing to take orders?" He asked the Seeker.

Starscream gave him a dry stare. "I have been taking orders ever since the war started, Prime! No, I am not!" He paused for a moment to allow Optimus to huff in frustration before smirking. "But I'll take suggestions!" He added.

A dry smirk was shot his way before Optimus allowed his face mask to drop down and he nodded. "Very well! I suggest you, Jetfire and Skywarp take to the air and begin shooting down Sweeps! The Ground team can shoot down any that come too close to us or the humans! Would it be against your idea to helping the Constructicons to find out what was going on here?" He called to him.

Immediately, Starscream transformed and blasted into the air, shouting, "Nope! I am curious, myself!" And he led the other two Seekers forward, already activating his rapid fire to shoot down the Sweeps.

Everyone moved in fast, cannons already a blazing. They knew this might blow up in their faces if Devastator wouldn't be happy to see Autobots. They were sure he might attack them, which was why Soundwave, Nemesis Strika and Barricade stayed close to the Autobots as close as they could. They all hoped that the Constructicons would see them and would decide against attacking them.

Of course, it was pretty big risk.

Sweeps were practically covering Devastator's back now, drilling and digging into him to cause him harm. There were quite a lot of them and because they were much smaller, easier to move around and harder to hit for the Combination's large claw to hit them.

The Sweeps were beginning to lay waste to Devastator's hard piercing armor, getting into the inner workings of his systems when suddenly they were being shot to pieces by rapid fire sabot bullets from above. All together, Sweeps snarled or screeched in surprise as they took to the air to avoid getting shot. They barely had time to look up to see three large jets coming at them before they were shot down.

Immediately, the Sweeps began to move to avoid getting shot down from above, sweeping through the air as fast as they could. But that left them open to attacks from below.

There was a thunderous boom before cannon fire slammed into a group of Sweeps, turning them into Astroturf and burning wreckage. The Sweeps immediately turned their attention downward to see the attackers and screeched in rage and disbelief to see that Autobots and Decepticons were working together to shooting them down. They dove downward to attack their attackers. Sweeps either tried to flee or attack the three Seekers in the air but twisting and turning quickly, they were avoided skillfully. They did not have the same speed or agility as Seekers did. No matter how they tried.

From somewhere, watching from the jungle trees, the Master, himself, had been enjoying the view of those traitors being ripped apart. But when three very familiar Seekers dove out of the sky, Scourge stiffened. He couldn't believe this! He could not believe what he was seeing, even as he swept his burning red optics from the air to the ground where a group of fellow Cybertronians were now attacking his multitude of offspring.

Growling viciously, Scourge dove towards the ground and down into Earth as fast as he could. He needed to report this to Galvatron and his Master. They needed to know what he had seen.

Sending a swift message to his Sweeps, Scourge was gone quickly.

It came as a surprise when the Sweeps immediately stopped attacking and tried to flee. But some continued to attack.

As luck seemed to catch onto those ones that attacked Starscream, latching onto his wings to begin ripping at him, it seemed that luck decided to bite them in the afts, even with the Seeker was getting ready to send out a nasty EMP wave to get them off. It did not help when the Sweeps sank their dirty claws into his wings, making him snarl out in pain and outrage. He twisted and turned violently in the air, trying to get them off but they weren't budging. "Skywarp! Get these fragging things off of me...!

Suddenly there was an explosion of thunderous booms before electric currents slammed into the Sweeps, making them smoking and crackling with electricity turning them into nothing but husks as they began dropping to the jungle ground. The electric weapons systems, however, was so familiar to Starscream and Skywarp that they nearly froze in midair and went crashing down in shock.

Especially when a very dark blue Lockheed Martin F35 jet came careening out of the clouds, looking pretty battle raged.

The two Trine mates immediately transformed and landed heavily to the ground just to stare up in shock at it. They couldn't believe their visuals. They just couldn't. They had thought him dead!

"Thunder!" Both of them yelps in surprise and glee.

Of course, when a missile was shot from the jet, aimed at the Autobots, they stiffened with alarm.

"Thundercracker! No!" Starscream yelled before whirling around and waving to the Autobots to take cover.

It was not needed though. The Autobots were jumping to the side to avoid getting shot. The missile came close to slamming into Ultra Magnus, however, until a large body slammed into him, knocking him to the ground as the missile exploded in midair when a powerful cannon blast collided with it. The Autobot Commander, startled, looked at who saved him from getting a nice sized hole in his chest and stared in surprise to watch as Nemesis Strika climbed off of him.

Giving him a dark amused look, the Decepticon femme offered her hand to him. "I think you're getting old, Autobot. You're too slow now." She taunted him lightly.

Huffing but chuckling at the same time, Ultra Magnus took her hand and allowed her to pull him up. He looked to Soundwave, who held a smoking cannon arm and nodded his thanks.

That out of the way, everyone stiffened and tensed up as a snarling Devastator lumbered closer, activating series of cannons, as well as the growling blue jet as it slammed to the ground, twisting and turning into his bipedal form. It surprised everyone, though they shouldn't have been, that the Seeker was in between the Autobots and the Seekers behind him. The Decepticon was actually crouched in a feral protection stance, as if shielding his two trine mates from the Autobots.

"Thundercracker! Stand down! It's all right! The Autobots are with us!" Starscream immediately yelled as he hurried around Thundercracker and put himself between his aerial brother and his goody goody companions.

The revelation startled the Seeker but he stood up straighter, looking bewildered. "Wh-what?" He asked in shock. Even Devastator looked startled before there were many series of clicks and clanks as the huge being fell apart into the Constructicons. Every one of them hesitated as they approached the opposite group. "You're with the Autobots now?"

"In some sense." It was Barricade who grunted.

Starscream nodded as he glanced over at Soundwave then back to Thundercracker. "We didn't have a choice. I was in stasis lock and dying and Soundwave knows only basic field medical capabilities. They had to take me to Prime and his Medical Officer. If I had not been taken to him, I would have been destroyed." He then frowned. "What about you? Skywarp and I thought you were deactivated. Why are you here and why was the Sweeps attacking you lot?" He asked looking at the Constructicons.

It was Hook who stepped forward. "We left the Nemesis. Things are getting too screwy with the Decepticons and Minicons. Thundercracker was the only one from your group who survived the slaughter by Galvatron and the Minicons so we took him with us, wanting to find Soundwave the others. They were going to use him to draw your trine mate," He paused to look over at Skywarp, who looked pained to hearing that. "Into a trap. As well as the others, to destroy all of you. Of course, we all thought you were deactivated, Starscream. Imagine our surprise to see you here." He gave the Autobots a look, which some returned. "With...Autobots." He finished with a spot of disgust in his tone.

Thundercracker nodded as he looked at his trine mates. "We were found out as soon as we escaped the Nemesis and the Sweeps were sent after us. Obviously, you can figure what happened next." He glanced at the Autobots, hesitating. "So, what are you doing here with the Autoscu...er, Autobots? Are you one of their prisoners?" He asked finishing with a threatening growl.

Starscream glanced at the said fraction before lifting his head higher. "Of course not, TC. I am Leader of the Decepticons now. And High Lord Protector. The Autobots and us have an understanding that we have a common enemy. Galvatron, The Fallen and the Minicons. It'll be better and faster if I send you a connection report." He stated before his burning eyes flickered, as did the other Decepticons.

After a moment, Thundercracker was frowning curiously as he glanced elsewhere from his trine mate and leader, which a few noticed that it was Cole he was looking at. The Constructicons, however, were looking at one another, as if conversing with each other.

All but Hook.

The Decepticon medic merely raised an eye ridge at Starscream, who was looking rather serious. It was like he was trying to warn him not to say anything about something but this was Hook. He was always blunt, even if others didn't like it. "You're hiding something, Starscream. Something that deals with that human." The medic stated, motioning to Cole, who stiffened.

Starscream gave him a look of warning. "Hook, drop it." He growled. He did not want to even go there. Not in front of the Autobots and surely not in front of the sadistic medical officer of the Decepticons.

Thundercracker's eyes flashed as he searched through his bond with his Air Commander, and found very interesting memories and feelings coming right off his brother of the air. He stared at Starscream looking flabbergasted. He found something that was for sure. "Starscream! Are you fragging serious? A human? You chose a human?" He yelped.

"What?" Cole asked her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Even some of the Autobots looked suspicious while others shifted uneasily. They knew this was a conversation they did not want to get involved with. Even the Decepticons knew they didn't want to get involved with it.

Starscream looked at Thundercracker a warning look, shaking his head. "Thundercracker, drop it." He growled.

"A human? She is a human! She isn't one of us!" The blue Seeker exclaimed in alarm.

"Okay! What the hell are you talking about?" Cole demanded.

"Thundercracker, I will not tell you again! Drop it!" Starscream growled at his brother.

"It was bad enough you fell for with the Autobot femme, Starscream! She went and hurt you enough by rejecting you for the Autobot bug! But now you've fallen for a fragging human?" Thundercracker demanded growling ignoring how everyone tensed up, even Cole. He didn't care that all of them were staring at him and Starscream with alarm and unease.

"TC! Stop it! Who cares who Star likes? It didn't stop the Autobot Sideswipe from falling for a human!" Skywarp begged, looking between his brothers.

"Wh-what?" Ironhide yelped looking between Starscream and Cole now, like everyone else.

Thundercracker shook his head, growling. He just couldn't believe this. This was not like Starscream. He knew something must have messed with his Air Commander's processor. "I bet she screwed up your processor! She has done something to you or the Autobots have! I can fix this for you! I'll make her pay for what she's done to you!" He said now looking threateningly at Cole, moving towards her.

Weapons whirled to life as the Autobots tensed up, readying for a fight with the Seeker. Cole even stepped back, knowing a threat when she saw one. Her hand immediately lashed out to her gun holster and she pulled her gun, aiming it at him. "Don't you come near me!" She demanded, hiding her nervousness.

"That puny weapon won't do anything to me." Thundercracker growled before he yelped when he was grabbed and tossed backwards. He stumbled a little before whirling around to growl who grabbed him.

But to his surprise it was his Air Commander and brother.

Starscream moved back until he was right above Cole, crouching in a defensive position, protecting her. He was growling but there was a mild whine to it. He did not want to have to fight Thundercracker but he would to protect his charge. "TC, do not make me have to hurt you." He warned, yet there was a plea there as well.

Thundercracker stared at him, stunned but angry at the same time. "What the frag happened to you, Starscream? You are protecting a human over me? I am your brother! You're choosing a human over your own brother?" He demanded.

"I'm not! But I won't let you hurt her, TC!" Starscream growled, warningly. "Yes! I admit it! I find her fascinating! I would not say I am in love! That is going too far! But I am also not going to deny it that yes, I find myself caring for her! And I will not let you hurt her! Or the Autobots! It's time to stop fighting them and fighting with them against the true enemy! Galvatron, The Fallen and Unicron! We need to work together to get rid of them! So stop your glitching about Cole!"

There was an almost awkward silence for a long moment between the two Seekers and even with all of the Constructicons. Even with the humans.

Cole was staring up at Starscream with shock and almost...awe. She was surprised by the sudden confession from him. She would have never guessed that this being...that Starscream felt like that about her. He was actually willing to protect her from his own brother, who meant her harm. Even though Thundercracker thought that she or the Autobots had done something to Starscream.

Thundercracker stared hard and long at Starscream, not believing this. "You are in love with her. I can read your feelings. You actually fell in love with a human. Why?" He asked confused.

Starscream stared t him, just as hard before he merely glanced Cole then turned away from her, forlorn. "Because she is like me and then she isn't. She is more than I can ever be." He murmured before he turned back towards Thundercracker, his features hard again. "I won't let her be hurt by you, TC. We're here to stop Galvatron and the Fallen. And since you're here, you can help..."

"Forget it, Starscream. I am not working with Autobots." Thundercracker growled, giving the said a dark gaze. "Nor with humans. If you are smart, you'll leave with us. Unicron is coming and he will not show us mercy. He is going to destroy this planet and everything on it. We are getting out of here before he gets here." He then stood up straight, face plates hard. "Are you coming with us or not? All of you?" He asked looking at all of the Decepticons.

For a moment, there was only silence as all of the Decepticons looked at one another then to Starscream. It was Soundwave who shook his head first. And then Barricade, followed by Nemesis Strika as she glanced towards Ultra Magnus.

And last, Starscream shook his head with a deep sigh. "No matter where we try to go, the Minicons will try to follow. I am a known coward, Thundercracker. But this time, I am not running away. I am standing and fighting. I am the Decepticon Leader now. If you are a Decepticon still, then follow me. If not, you are neutral and I won't stop you from leaving Earth." He told him.

Thundercracker did look disappointed but also angry to hear that. He heaved a huge sigh before turning away. "Then I am neutral. I am not fighting a losing battle any more. I guess this goodbye then. Come on, Skywarp." He said starting to walk away.

But when Skywarp didn't move, the blue Seeker turned back and frowned at him.

Skywarp looked torn. He was looking from Starscream to Thundercracker, pained of the decision of what to do. He didn't want this. This was meaning the worse that could happen. It was his worst nightmare. "But...but we're...we are a trine. We should stay together." He said painfully.

"I am not staying on a planet that will be destroyed, Sky. If you want to stay together, then let's go. But Starscream made up his mind. He is staying to die with his human." Thundercracker said, growling out the word human as if it was a taste of poison. "Now let's go."

Again, Skywarp looked torn. He let his eyes flicker to some of the Autobots, looking pained. He met Sunstreaker's eyes then Bumblebee's and then looked to the pained looking Sidewipe as he stood close to Groundhog. He stared at them for a long time before he sighed heavily and then lowered his head, saddened. He stepped back. "I'm staying. The Autobots are friends now. They're not enemies anymore. They saved Starscream. And Dawn and Sides needs us. If we don't stay, she...she will die. And I don't want her to die. She was nice to me. And if she dies, then Sides will be spark broken. He needs our help." He said sadly.

Thundercracker stared hard at him before he turned away, beginning to shift and transform. "We are not a trine any more. Brothers no more." He said darkly before blasting off into the air.

Starscream and Skywarp both flinched and touched their chassis as if those words physically hurt them. They felt the tear away from their bond. It hurt bad. And all everyone could do was look at them sympathically. They all knew that Thundercracker hurt them bad by doing this. By saying those harsh words. But it wasn't like they could do anything to help.

Starscream looked to Hook and the Constructicons as they stood there, staring at him. "Are you with us then? Or are you leaving the Decepticons?" He asked, trying to harden his tone.

For a moment, no one spoke before Hook shook his head. "I am sorry, Starscream. But you're on your own. Things are getting out of servos. The Fallen and Galvatron are just too powerful for us to take on. We are better off just leaving." He then motioned to his gestalt, who all began to transform and roll away from the group of strange beings. "Be ware, Starscream, Autobots. The Minicons are here somewhere. They are dangerous. If you are caught, they will destroy you. Good luck. May Primus protect you." He then turned away.

"Thank you, Hook." Optimus said, standing next to Starscream. "Good luck and farewell. May Primus protect you and your gestalt as well."

Hook merely gave a sharp nod as he walked away after his brothers.

There was a long silence for everyone. They were either staring at Starscream or Cole or just trying not to stare at anything. It was awkward enough with Cole staring at Starscream, who was trying to avoid even looking at her.

"Starscream..." Cole started to say.

Starscream turned away and started walking. "We are wasting time by standing here. Let's get moving. We have a human to save. And that despicable Galvatron and The Fallen is getting closer to our All Spark." He growled before heading towards the trees.

Everyone watched him go, somewhat trying to decide if they should follow or not. But then Optimus sighed and motioned forward. "He's right. We need to move." He stated. "Let's find the All Spark and Alpha Trion before it's too late."

"But what about what just hap...?" Sunstreaker was saying.

"What happened and what was revealed has nothing to do with any of us, Sunstreaker. It is between Starscream and Cole now. We will stay out of it." Optimus said firmly though he did glance down at the spoken human femme, who was staring after the spoken Seeker with surprise and something else. No one could really read her expression. And no one dared to try.

But either way, Starscream and Optimus was right. They did need to move fast. So it was off into the jungle they went, though everyone was quieter about it.


	39. Heart To Spark Talk

For a short while, everyone moved through thick vegetation and jungle trees until they found a large open area where the humans could rest. It hadn't been easy for the Cybertronians to even move so most of them had to drive. It was good and bad being there, that was for sure.

Good, because it was a good place to hide from view.

Bad, it was a good place to be ambushed.

It was getting to be night time in the Congo jungle and rather hard to even see but the humans were on a whole different time schedule, so they were mostly awake. Only tired from walking and the heat. It was pretty hot and humid where they were.

Still, everyone was mostly quiet because of what happened the moment they even arrived in Africa. Everyone else kept glancing at Cole or to the dangerously quiet Seeker, who seemed to be keeping himself distanced from everyone. No one still could believe what they had discovered. At least to some, who managed to figure it out that Starscream had developed feelings for Cole.

"Okay! You know what? Everyone is dying to ask so I'm going to ask it!" It was Cheetor who burst out, making two of the group stiffen while the others merely grimaced. "What the frag was that Seeker talking about...?"

"Cheetor," Ultra Magnus interrupted sharply, not able to shake his head as he just sat in his large truck form. "Not now."

"But..."

"The question I want to ask is what are we going to do from here? Where is the Department keeping the All Spark and old guy?" Epps was the one to interrupt, knowing it was better to just change the subject.

A few looked grateful at the subject change, not wanting to anger two of the most temperamental individuals in the group.

Optimus turned his hidden eyes onto Sam before he activated a hologram of a map. "Sam, where do you suppose they are?" He asked, showing the map of the jungle to the young adult.

Sam nodded as he walked over and studied it for a moment. He was glad they weren't going to try and pry information from Starscream about Cole. He knew very well that is just wasn't their business. So he was better off just concentrating on finding the All Spark and Alpha Trion.

"Let's see." The young man stated before pointing at a huge cluster of trees. "From what I understand from the coordinates for Alpha Trion, this is where he is at. And the All Spark is being kept in this area, just thirty miles away, I think." He explained.

Will studied the area before looking around at everyone. "The Department is probably trying to avoid another Mission City, Hoover Dam scenario by keeping them away from each other. They don't want a repeat with Megatron." He explained before resting his automatic against a tree next to him. "Our best guess is they are probably trying to keep them underground, out of prying eyes. So we probably will need to find a facility here."

Everyone nodded as they took the information in. They figured that there would be something they needed to find. The only problem they needed to worry about was where the Minicons were. Everyone knew that if the Sweeps were there, then so was Scourge. He was never too far from his creations. It was more than likely he had seen them but they hadn't noticed him.

During the planning, Cole had been sneaking looks over at Starscream, trying to figure out what to do. She hadn't counted on that confession at all. She couldn't even seen it coming.

An alien robot was in love with her, or something of the sort. She didn't know what to even say about it.

"Are you ever going to go talk to him?"

Frowning, Cole turned to look at Reno as he sank down next to her. She didn't want to deal with him right now. She just wanted to think on this by herself. "Will you bug off?" She growled at him.

Reno raised an eyebrow at her but shook his head. He knew she didn't want to talk to him. Se never could tolerate him. But he wanted to know where she was going to go with this with Starscream. "Look, Cole. I know you hate me. But I am trying to help." He said in a quiet voice so not to catch anyone's attention.

"You want to help? Piss off." Cole growled turning her back to him.

Rolling his eyes, Reno leaned towards her, so his mouth was closer to her ear. "I already knew how he felt about you, Cole. I started seeing it when he took you out for a flight. And I know you feel something for him. I can see it. You trusted him with Slipstream, so it is obvious. Now the question is, what are you going to do about it?" He asked lowly before pushing himself to his feet. "He doesn't know what to do, Cole. He is just as clueless as you are. I don't think he has ever been in this spot before. Other than what he had with Spitfire. But she rejected him. Because she couldn't love someone she wasn't in love with. He is probably not going to say anything to you because you will probably do the same thing as she did." And then he went over to join the others again.

Cole frowned over her shoulder at him before looking over at the Seeker in question. She saw him staring off into the darkness, forlorn look on his face. He did look pretty troubled about the whole thing.

Her eyes narrowed a little, trying to think of what to do about him. She just didn't see why he would ever think of her like that. She wasn't a good person, at least...

The conversation that had taken place between them came back to her and her breath caught in her lungs. She remembered what he had said to her and her to him. The signs had been there. She just hadn't seen them.

The way he had looked at her. The way he crooked his smile at her. The soft look in his glowing red eyes as he watched her with Slipstream. She always thought he had been looking at her daughter. Perhaps he did. But then perhaps...he had been looking at her. She recalled how she had caught him leaving from watching her giving Slipstream her first bath. And how her heart had flickered after the dance off with him.

Cole realized just maybe...maybe she did feel something. This hadn't happened to her for such a long time now. She had never felt her heart tickle like it had for when she and Starscream stared at one another during their dance.

She realized...she needed to talk to him.

Standing up, Cole made her way over to the Seeker, lightly brushing his side with her hand to get him to look at her. She didn't look back but kept walking into the trees. She felt his gaze on her but she didn't turn back until she was a few feet away from the camp. Only then did she look back, meeting his gaze and nodded for him to join her.

Frowning, Starscream glanced over his wing to the others but they all seemed too preoccupied with plans. So he transformed, giving an excuse he was shutting down for a bit before activating his human form and following after.

Unbeknownst that a few eyes had flickered after them and hidden smiles were spared by the Prime, his sparkmate, a silent Communications Officer and a grinning Reno Banes.

Walking after Cole into the trees a good distance away, Starscream was wondering what she wanted. He didn't even know why he was even following her in the first place. He hadn't had the intentions to even talk to her now that his brother of the air had blown his feelings into the air.

It worried him, honestly but also made him scowl at himself. Though he wasn't too sure why just yet.

Finally, Cole whirled around, her arms folded and giving him quite the stare. "So when were you going to tell me. About how you felt?" She asked.

Starscream scowled and turned his head away. "I wasn't going to." He gruffed out.

"Why?" Cole scowled at him.

Starscream huffed before looking at her, and almost regretting it. He felt his breath catch when he saw that she had stepped too close to him. But then he scowled and stepped back. He stiffened when she stepped closer again. So he casually stepped back again, trying not to be too close to her. "Why does it matter? You are human. I am not. You don't stay connected to another like our kind does. What I feel does not matter." He growled before turning slightly away.

But Cole ducked around him and blocked him from leaving again. "What if it does matter, Starscream? I just want to know why you feel things for me? What do you feel?" She asked seriously.

"Drop it, Cole. It doesn't matter. It's not like you feel the same about me. You don't feel the same..." Starscream growled going to move around her.

But Cole grabbed his arm and yanked him back. She waited till he growled and started to turn to snap at her for grabbing him like that. Only then did she grab his shirt collar and yank him closer. "Is this what you feel?!" She demanded before she practically slammed her mouth upon his in a fiery kiss.

Starscream froze, his eyes wide with shock. He couldn't believe that she would try something like that.

Nonetheless, as soon as their lips met, sparks seemed to fly between their kiss, sending electric tingles running from each into the other. And it was not an unpleasant feeling at all.

Still after a moment of kissing him and he wasn't exactly responding back, Cole finally pulled away with a bitter smile. "I guess I was wrong. Sorry for putting you through something you didn't..." she was saying now turning to walk away.

But Starscream lashed out, catching her arm with his hand. He pulled her back, startling her as he wrapped an arm around her waist and dove down to capture her lips again.

Again, something exploded between them. Something very pleasant. It was like sparks were flying from their skin into the other's. It just felt right doing this. To both of them. It was something that had never had happened to Cole before. She had kissed plenty of guys before in her life. It was always about lust between them, however. But never had this feeling came over her before.

This man...no. This being from a whole different world made her actually feel like a super nova exploded in her universe and was reforming into something new, unfamiliar but beautiful beyond all reason.

And she found herself kissing him right back, fighting for dominance and enjoying it.

Cole never pegged this guy for being a great kisser, seeing that his real form didn't really have lips or anything but he was rocking her solar system with how he was kissing her. She found her hands trailing up behind his neck, linking her fingers together and using him to just hold herself up. Her eyes even had fluttered close and she was sure her foot even lift up from behind, something that made her want to laugh. But she was just enjoying herself too much to do it.

Finally, finding herself out of breath, Cole pulled away, her eyes opening to look into the deep red glow in Starscream's eyes.

He was smirking the most devilish smile at her, and she just could not help but smirk right back.

"Well, I think we just discovered something together." She found herself say, still slightly out of breath. "I might not stand men, but I sure as hell can stand you."

Starscream merely smirked as he tightened his grip on her, bringing her ever closer to him. "I usually can't stand humans, but you sure changed my mind." He said before diving right in again and once again, he basically sucked the breath right out of her and she just didn't care.

That is, until they heard a strange noise to their right.

"Sides, you need to consume something. Come on. Dawn wouldn't want you to be doing this to yourself." Sunstreaker tried to tell his twin, who sat almost comatose right next to him. He held an Energon cube in his hand, trying to get Sideswipe to eat some but he just wasn't responding.

Sighing heavily, Ratchet shook his head as he sat there, watching. It had been nearly two days since Dawn's attack and still Sideswipe was in a deep state. He had not slept, other than what he forced him to do, or ate. He didn't even talk to anyone.

It worried nearly everyone. Sunstreaker the most. Sideswipe was in a huge mess. It was like he was already gone, leaving only an active but empty shell behind.

"Optimus, maybe you should try speaking to him again." Elita One said quietly to her mate from near the medic.

Optimus sighed, looking over at Sideswipe and his twin but shook his head. "I have already tried ten times. He doesn't respond. What has happened to Dawn has devastated him terribly." He said quietly.

Elita sighed heavily before she pushed herself up and went over to the twins. She lightly touched Sunstreaker's shoulder and nodded for him to leave so she could try. He understood and moved away so she could sit next to his twin. But not without handing her the Energon first.

For a moment, Elita didn't say anything but watched Sideswipe just sit there, staring at the ground. She studied him then tapped her chest plate, activating a recording system.

"Sides, you brought me out of the darkness like a beacon of light. I will forever be yours."

That got a reaction for once.

Sideswipe's head whipped up and he looked frantically around for Dawn but then his eyes fell on Elita and he sobered again. A sigh escaping him as he started to go back to staring.

However, Elita lightly slapped him over the head, making him flinch and give her a reproachful look. She just shook her head at him, looking softly though. "What do you think Dawn would say if she saw you acting this way, Sides? I know you're hurting badly. I know you are feeling what she is. I know that it is really traumatizing to have just connected and bonded with her and then have it torn like that. But you are still capable of , moving around and even fighting. It is going to sting when doing so, but you are a warrior and you're making Sunstreaker sick with worry. He is feeling your emotions and it's hurting him. He didn't even fight the Sweeps because he is feeling what you are. And it bothered him that he couldn't fight because you are acting like you're the one who was shot." She told him.

Sideswipe stared at her before he looked away, towards Groundhog, where Dawn was still kept. "It hurts. I can barely feel her." He said in a raspy voice.

Elita sighed softly before she wrapped an arm around his shoulder plates and drew him into a hug. She felt him hesitate before he did the same, holding onto her like a child to his mother. She felt him tremble. "She will make it, Sides. Even Primus said so if we can get her to Alpha Trion and the All Spark in time. He can save her. But if we're charting you around, worrying about you and trying to protect Groundhog because he is the one carrying her, it is just going to slow us down. And then we will be in trouble. I know it hurts to move. Optimus should know the most because I did die and he felt it. He felt as if his spark had been ripped in two. You're not going to feel it because we will save Dawn before it happens. But you need to buck up and do what you swore to do. Stand up and protect her." She told him gently.

Sideswipe sighed before nodding. "I am sorry. It just really hurts to move." He told her painfully.

"I know, sweetbot. But you have to try and ignore it. It isn't over for her yet. Have you tried contacting her through your bond yet?" She asked pulling away, releasing him.

Sideswipe gave her a puzzled look but shook his head. "I didn't think about it. I didn't think it would work because she isn't...well, you know." He said quietly.

Elita shrugged with a light smile. "Who know, Sides? Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But then again, she is bonded to you. You can feel her. So perhaps it will work. Try to find her. She is in the darkness. So go find her." She stated.

Sideswipe blinked at her before he sat up straighter with a determined look on his face. He saw her point. He nodded to her before turning his eyes towards Groundhog, stretching out his spark, hoping to find the connection to Dawn.

And sure enough, he felt it.

It had taken a moment of nothing happening. He was searching desperately for her. His spark felt as if it was a grasping hand, reaching only air.

But then warmth touched it.

Like warm grasping fingers, someone touched his spark and he heard a tiny, weakened voice.

::Si-Sides...whe-where are you? It's so dark::

Sideswipe nearly collapsed with great relief when he heard her voice. He let out a shaky breath but smiled. ::Dawn, I'm here, sweetspark.::

::Sides, what...where are you? I can't see you. I feel you but I can't...::

::I know. I can't see you either but I feel you too. Just hang on. We're getting you some help.::

::Where are we? What happened? I don't remember. The last thing I remember is us...getting married and then...then nothing. I remember pain.::

Sideswipe sighed before he recalled the memory of what happened during the past couple of days and pushed it towards her so she would know. He felt her anxiety and pain when she saw them, followed by disapproval.

::Sides, you have been moping around.:: Dawn stated the obvious.

Sideswipe grimaced but nodded as if Dawn could see him. ::Yeah, I was hurting. I thought I was going to lose you. I still do. I can feel you hurting, Sunrise. It hurts.::

::I know. But Optimus and the others need you right now. I need you to be strong for them. You have to help them.::

::I will try. Don't go anywhere, Dawn. I am not going to lose you. It will kill me if I do.:: Sideswipe said firmly. He felt love pouring into him, as well as gratitude.

::I love you, Sides. Just don't put yourself where you don't need to be. I will be fine. I am not going anywhere. I swore my soul to you. Even if I do die, sweetspark, you have to promise me that you won't.::

::Sunrise...::

::Promise me, Sides! I know it hurts but you got to remember, Sunny needs you too. And from what I see in your memories, it is hurting him with you being down. He needs you, Optimus needs you, my family needs you. Promise me. If something does happen to me, I need you to protect mom, Nik and Delia.::

There was a long silence before Sideswipe slumped. He didn't know if he could make that promise. But he supposed he could try. ::I promise.::

"Hey!" Someone said quickly, tearing everyone's attention away from what they were doing. Even Sideswipe's attention was ripped from his internal conversation with Dawn.

It was Starscream, shifting and transforming. He waited till he was in full mech form again before looking directly at Optimus, serious to a fault. He remained crouching, however. "Cole and I found the Department facility. You better come quick. Or she's going in by herself." He said in a quiet voice.

Everyone looked at one another before they jumped up to their feet and began hurrying through the trees after Starscream.

Barricade, however, snickered at a sudden thought. "So, what were you and Cole doing before you found the facility?" He asked in a teasing way.

Starscream glared over his wing at the black and white police cruiser. "None of your fragging business, Barricade!" He snarled.

Everyone couldn't help but snickering while Optimus and Elita One shared a knowing smile. Even Reno had a knowing look on his face but it wasn't like he was going to say anything about it. Even Skywarp, who was reading his bond with his brother knew better than to say anything, though he was pleased of the results.


	40. Facing The Past

Everyone found Cole still crouched down low behind a downed tree, looking at a large facility surrounded by a fifteen foot high electric fence with razor wire on top.

This facility was definitely a higher security facility, no doubt. Other than the fence, there were a few watch towers with spot lights trailing over the grounds. Armed to the teeth guards were constantly patrolling all over with a few dogs; Dobermans, German Shepherds and Rott Wielers, which were constantly barking towards the trees. It was obviously they knew something was out there. But it didn't seem to bother the guards at all. There were three large buildings in the vicinity as well as a large steel door that clearly rolled away. That must have been the main entrance to the labs below. It looked more like a prison, in way.

The Cybertronians had to keep their real bodies back so to avoid attention. They were all in their holo forms, looking down with the humans at the facility, studying what they were up against.

Though, a few were glancing at Soundwave's human form with some unease. He took the appearance of a very tall human with semi long dark hair and dark red eyes. He was quite muscular for a human, which was no surprise because of the size of his real frame. In a way, he kind of looked like one of the MMA cage fighters that Trent and Sam had watched once. They wondered if that was where the silent Communications Officer even got the idea of how to look like as a human. He wore all black, however. He was actually kind of creepy looking, yet good looking. But no decided to say anything about it.

"So that's it, huh?" Epps asked in a quiet voice. He did not like the looks of this place whatsoever. Neither did anyone. The looks of the guns being carried did not look pleasant at all.

Cole slowly nodded as she looked everything over, ignoring the closeness Starscream was to her. "Judging by the looks of those weapons, they are packing those EMP weapons I told you about. They are definitely guarding something big here. It must be the All Spark thing you guys are looking for." She stated.

Optimus frowned as he studied the facility. This one was going to be a tough one. There were too many humans here, even if they were the Department. He still didn't want to harm the humans, even if they may have deserved it. "We will have to proceed with caution. We cannot harm the humans."

"Are you kidding me?" Nemesis Strika asked dourly. She was giving him a skeptical look. "After what these humans have done? Harming us and even harming the girl, Dawn? You still want them alive?"

Optimus looked over at her but shook his head. "It's not our place to judge these humans, Nemesis Strika. They must be brought to justice in their own terms. We are here for only the All Spark and Alpha Trion to save Dawn and Sideswipe." He told her firmly.

Barricade shook his head with a snort of disgust. "I really can't see why you would try and save these ones, Prime. They are just as wicked as the Minicons." He growled.

"But some might be like Agent Marshall and Agent Quincy, Barricade. They may not know that they were harming innocent humans." Ratchet said, agreeing with his Prime.

Cole shook her head looking back at him from over her shoulder. "Sorry, but I am with the Decepticons on this one. The Department might have a few agents that are clueless to the real cause but most of them don't care. You are better off just killing those ones. If you can get some to surrender peacefully, great. But if not, shoot to kill." She told them tersely.

None of the Autobots liked to hear that. They didn't like the idea of killing anyone. Especially humans.

"That isn't how we work, Cole." Ultra Magnus said firmly.

"Look, I am not going to argue with your ideals. It's great that you don't harm humans. But some people just deserve it." Cole said her tone hard. "The Department deserves it. Believe me."

"This is about what happened to Sean, isn't it?" Will asked frowning at her.

No one noticed that Starscream had tensed up at the mention of Sean. He wasn't pleased to hear about that human, due to his new...arrangement with Cole. But he knew it wasn't his place to say anything.

Cole, on the other hand, frowned darkly at Will. She didn't want to get into that. "No, this is about what happened to an innocent girl!" She growled. "What they did to her was enough to piss me off!"

"Shh!" Reno hissed before ducking down with everyone as a spot light trailed to where they were. Everyone had to duck behind a tree or bush to avoid being seen. The light kept going, however, as if the guards never realized anything was amiss.

After a moment of nothing happening, everyone relaxed. They figured they were in the clear.

"All right. What's the plan? How are we getting in there?" Epps asked looking at the others.

Optimus paused, thinking carefully. He knew they needed to be careful with this. But they did need to hurry for Dawn's sake. The sooner they found Alpha Trion, the better. "Well for starters, we need to know where they are keeping Alpha Trion and the All Spark. We need to get in there and locate them first before jumping right to it." He said carefully before looking at Soundwave.

Understanding what he was trying to say, Soundwave nodded as he tapped his chest, ejecting Frenzy. "Frenzy mission: search for All Spark location and Alpha Trion location. Secure location and deactivate all alarm systems." He ordered.

With a jittery affirmative, Frenzy dove into the bushes, heading straight for the Department base.

Now all the others had to do was wait.

"So...did you talk with Starscream then?"

Cole turned an irritated look onto Reno for his question, acknowledging the fact that the spoken Seeker was growling when he saw the human male talking to her. She just waved a hand at him to cool it before turning her attention to Reno. "Will you ever mind your own business?" She asked with a huff.

Reno grinned but shook his head. "Not really. So you are together now, right?" He asked smugly.

Again, Cole gave him a dry look before turning her back to him. "None of your business, Reno. Piss off." She growled before walking over and sinking down next to the said Seeker's real form, still in its jet mode.

No one missed how she leaned against the jet's landing gear and some smiled, knowingly. But they wisely kept their mouth shut. They did not want to irritate either anger issued individuals.

Sam was sitting down next to Trent when he grimaced. He was starting to feel and uncomfortable pressure in his gut. "Hey, I'll be right back." He said standing up. He stopped when everyone tensed, looking high strung. "I just need to...uh...well..."

Most of everyone relaxed, though the Decepticons frowned looking confused.

"Don't go too far, Sam. We know that the Minicons are here and who knows if the Department has scouts wandering around." Will told him, understanding.

Sam nodded, moving away into the trees. He barely heard Nemesis Strika asking what he needed to do, and Ironhide explained earning a nice big "Ewwww!" from Skywarp. And snickers from others. He had to smile to himself, amused by the reaction.

Finding a tree to go behind, Sam got to it, wondering the entire time of how things were going to go when Frenzy came back with his report. He hoped they would find the All Spark and Alpha Trion in time for Dawn and Sideswipe. It made his eyes sting to think of what would happen if they didn't. He couldn't imagine a life without his childhood best friend or the Autobot Warrior. And surely, without Sideswipe, Sunstreaker would probably follow in deactivation. The thought of it made Sam shudder as he finished his business.

Pulling off his canteen of water hanging on his belt, Sam started making his way back. He used it to wash his hands before he put it back.

Taking a step forward, the young Navigator began to walk back...

And yelped quietly when he tripped over something on the ground, falling flat on his face. He groaned, spitting out dirt and leaves that managed to get into his mouth before he pushed himself up to his knees. He wasn't even sure what he had tripped on.

Glancing around his feet, Sam looked to see what it was before frowning. He could barely make out a thick line of grayish white. It looked like rope or nylon but there was something off about it. It was somewhat tangled around his ankles or sticking to his shoes.

Frowning, he sat on his rear, Sam reached over and plucked some of it off his shoes, grimacing when it stuck to his fingers instead. He made a face as he looked at it, realizing it was some kind of webbing. Spider webbing.

"What the pit? What kind of...spider makes this much webbing..." Sam was saying before he stiffened. "Spiders?"

It was only then did he realize there was some kind of rattling hiss high above him, in the trees. It actually sounded more like someone chuckling or giggling. As if a spider could laugh, right?

Stiffening, Sam slowly looked up and noticed that the general area was covered in the same grayish white substance. It was like he had somehow walked right into a nest of spider webs. He hadn't even noticed until now. His eyes lit up as he looked around at the spider web, feeling shivers going down his spine.

"Uh..." Sam murmured uneasily before he followed the strange noise and found the source of it in the dark trees. He couldn't help but stiffen, fear running through him as he choked on his own gasp.

"Well, well, well. Look at what I have caught in my web?" Came a metallic sultry voice as the being with brilliant red eyes looked down at him. As well as the curling smile of black metal lips, aimed at him, revealing fangs like a vampire.

It was the twinge deep inside Optimus' spark that alerted him that something was wrong. He didn't know what it was but something just wasn't right. He could feel it deep inside his spark and it seemed that the Matrix of Leadership was vibrating warningly beside his spark chamber.

Frowning, Optimus looked around at everyone and noted that Sam was still gone. He didn't like the looks of this. He might have not shared the same relief as humans did but he knew it didn't take too long for a human to lubercate.

It seemed Elita One picked up his anxious vibes because she looked at him, frowning. She could feel his uneasiness and she read from their bond of what it was about.

Glancing around, the Femme Commander frowned. "Has Sam not returned yet?" She asked quietly.

Everyone frowned as they looked up at her before looking around. They only stiffened when they noticed Sam wasn't back yet.

"I'll go get him and find out what is taking him so long." Trent said pushing himself to his feet. He paused when Will and Vladimir stopped him from going."What...?"

"You are not going by yourself. We don't know what is out here. So take someone with you." The Commanding soldier told him.

It was Cheetor who stood up, along with Ravage. They both seemed to agree with each other on this matter. "We will go with him, right, Rav?" The spotted Autobot said with a felinish smile aimed at the red eyed felinish Decepticon, who merely nodded.

Trent looked at Will then to Soundwave, who both nodded in agreement. He shrugged and walked with both into the trees to where Sam had gone.

"Something doesn't smell right." Ironhide muttered, stating the same thing that was going on in everyone's processor.

Ratchet nodded as he even sniffed the air, as searching for something. "I smell it too. There are pheromones in the air. Something sweet, yet sour at the same time. Almost like...some kind of drawing scent." He said frowning.

The humans sniffed the air, before making a face. They weren't sure what Ratchet was talking about. It wasn't like they would be able to detect anything that wasn't food.

"The only things I smell are flowers and mold. It is kind of drawing and does make me want to go check it out but..." Epps was saying.

It was then Elita One tensed up, her eyes widening. She knew that scent. She would know it better than anyone. "No! She's here!" She yelped before dashing into the trees after Trent and the felines, leaving quite alarmed Cybertronians and humans behind.

They only followed quickly when they heard Cheetor and Ravage roar and then yowl as if in pain, followed by Trent yelping in fear. They didn't think they could have moved any faster in their lives.

Trent, Cheetor and Ravage made their way through the trees, looking around for Sam. They didn't see him anywhere. But there was something that both felinish Cybertronians didn't like. Creepy, eerie feeling that made their claws unsheathed.

"Something don't feel right." The Autobot said, his ears pressed down to his helm and his tail tucking in between his legs. He glanced side wards at Ravage and saw that he was doing the same.

Trent huffed in amusement as he ran a hand along both of their heads. "Ah, don't be scaredy cats, you two. It's probably just wild animals you're picking up on. There isn't anything out there." He then used a hand to push some brush out of his face, freezing a second later when spider strings stuck to his hand. He grimaced as he yanked his hand away and began pulling at the strangely, very strong webbings. "Eww. Spiders. I hate spiders. They are so nasty." He groaned, trying to pick at the strings but frowned when he found it hard to do. His head, however, lift up a little when he heard quiet moaning.

"That isssssn't very nice. You just do not appreciate one of the finest, most beautiful creatures to ever exissssst." A seductive voice spoke out.

Tensing, Trent looked up to see who owned such a voice and his eyes snapped wide open with alarm. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He didn't know either to be disgusted or terrified as a giant metal spider was lunging towards him.

However, both Cheetor and Ravage snarled as they lunged into the path to protect him, latching onto two long, thin spiny legs with their fangs and earning a painful but angry and annoyed hiss from the large spider. They began ripping their heads around, trying to tear the legs off but found that they were made out of tough alloy.

Trent, alarmed, stumbled backwards and ended up tripping over something. He fell flat on his back, getting a good view of what were hanging from the trees. His eyes snapped wide open when he saw lumps of that strange spider threads, wrapped around bodies of men and even a few dogs. Some of them looked drained, like mummies. It was both horrifying and disgusting to even look at.

Then he noticed Sam writhing in his own strange cocoon, trying to break free from the threads. There was some of that strange spider threads on his mouth, keeping him from yelling out for help. He looked all right, just afraid out of his mind.

Scrambling to his feet, Trent hurried over to his best friend and began pulling at the thread to free him. He grimaced when all it did was stick to his hands but it was some tough stuff. He couldn't get it off at all.

"Dammit! Hold on, Sam!" Trent said in frustration before looking around for something sharp. He froze again when he saw what he had tripped on earlier.

It had been a man wrapped up in that weird spider threads. It looked like he was still alive, though. Just paralyzed or out cold. But there was something glinting from his belt, peering out of the threads.

A knife!

Trent bolted forward to the man's side to get the knife. He needed it! It could help free Sam from this weird robot spider's webbing!

Just then, there were a pair of yowls of pain as well as a loud crash, halting Trent from reaching the man. He looked up just in time to see that Cheetor and Ravage had been carelessly thrown against trees before the spider robot was scuttling towards him, glowing red eyes narrowed in glee.

Trent could not stop the yelp of fear from bellowing out as he leapt backwards and fell onto his back from tripping over another body wrapped in spider webbing. He raised his arms to protect himself from being attacked by the metallic spider, even as it bared fangs at him.

Suddenly, there was a familiar growl before something slammed into the side of the spider, throwing it hard away from Trent and hitting the trees behind. The sound of trees crunching and cracking echoed all around the clearing like lightning and no doubt it was heard by the Department guards.

Trent lowered his arm to see what happened before he held his breath to see Elita One standing over him in a protective stance. Her head was dipped low as her arms were raised, with only one blaster gun activated. She was growling threateningly at the spider robot as it managed to clamber to its eight sharp legs, scuttling to look at who attacked it.

The spider drew back a little in surprise before a light feminem chuckled out in a hiss. It actually looked pleased with seeing the Autobot Femme Commander. And then it began its transformation into an eight legged femme.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here. If it isn't my old friend. Hello, Ariel. Or shall I call you by your new name, Elita One." The wicked femme hissed in dark glee.

Elita One just glared at her, a feral growl escaping her vocoder. "Blackarachnia." She spoke coldly.

There was the sounds of thunderous feet next and Trent looked up to see everyone else arriving to see what was going on. They all stiffened when they saw Blackarachnia and what she done.

"Sam!" Bumblebee yelped when he saw his friend hanging helplessly on a tree. He hurried over, grabbing at him and tried to pull him free. He huffed in irritation when the threads wouldn't break. He looked around at the others in pleading and it was Barricade who hurried forward with his sharp spinning blades cutting the webbing. They broke easily by his blades.

Seeing her prey freed, Blackarachnia pouted, her thin black arms folded across her curvy chassis. "Aw. You took my next meal. It isn't nice to steal food from a lady, you know, brute." She said in an innocent mocking tone.

Barricade and everyone else glared at her. But it was he who reacted by flipping a middle servos at her. "Frag off, glitch. You're not a lady. You are a spider faced freak." He growled.

A dangerous glint appeared in the dark femme's six gleaming eyes, not looking amused. She actually looked pissed. "I'm going to enjoy sucking the Energon out of you, pitspawn." She said icily.

Barricade growled before snapping up his cannons up. "Bring it, bitch." He snarled. And even some of the others readied their selves for the battle.

However, Elita One snapped her hand out, blocking everyone from moving forward. She didn't even look at them but glared right at Blackarachnia. "Nobody move. She is mine." She spoke in a hard tone that was not like her. It had quite a few looking at her with alarm. Everyone but Optimus. He knew very well why Elita was not happy to see Blackarachnia.

"She is all yours, Elita. And only once will I say this, show her the mercy she gave all of your femmes in that last mission before she turned to the Decepticons."

Everyone had to stare at Optimus for the way he spoke. They had never heard him speak like that before. Not about anyone. Not even for Decepticons. They realized that whatever this spider like femme had done back on Cybertron, it must have been bad. But no one was going to ask about it.

Elita One sharply nodded before her own battle mask slid down over her face, showing only slits of her eyes. She had never really used it before so this was a new sight for the humans to see. She actually looked intimidating for once.

Blackarachnia hissed in dark amusement before she raised her eight legs hanging down her back, letting blades snap out and very intimidating indeed. She was definitely a dangerous opponent to be messing with. "Very well, my old friend. If this the way you want to play, I guess I have time to kill." She said drawling out the last word.

"This should be fun, watching Elita having all the fun." Jazz snorted.

A sinister smirk formed on the spider femme's black lips as she merely glanced at the silver spy. "You really want to join in the fun? Very well. Boys, it seems that all of our little friends wants to play. So have at it." She said darkly amused.

For a moment, no one knew what she was talking about. The humans and the Cybertronians frowned as they looked at her.

But then they heard them.

There was a sound of roaring engines in the distance and quickly approaching before everything seemed to explode in a sense.

Trees cracked and splintered loudly as large beings ran forward, making all tense up in alarm before they whipped out their weapons and prepared for battle. Cannons whirled to life and trained on the Decepticons and Minicons that came rushing out of the jungle, lunging forward to attack them. No one nearly had time to throw up their weapons and began firing.

There was no use trying to hide any more. Their enemies weren't giving them that choice at all. They had no choice but to blow their cover as they were attacked.

Optimus quickly waved to the humans as his battle mask quickly slid into place and he lashed out with his Energy sword, catching one Decepticon's own with a loud metallic crash. "Get to cover! Protect one another! If you can, get into the Department facility and find what we're looking for! Bumblebee, Jazz, Sunstreaker! Protect Groundhog and Sideswipe!" He ordered.

Immediately, everyone jumped into action. The humans quickly ran for cover or started grabbing the survivors of the spider femme's wickedness. They couldn't just leave them to be crushed by the giants' raging battles.

Ratchet, Soundwave and Ironhide all quickly placed their selves in between the humans and the cannon blasts to protect them from being harmed. The giant Decepticon quickly ejected his subunits the moment that Sweeps dove into view, as well as a pair of fliers, who began attacking the Seekers when they tried to blast off into the sky. A very large silver jet slammed right into Jetfire as he tried to take flight, sending them careening into trees and demolishing those in their path as they went.

A big black Blackhawk slammed to the ground before Ultra Magnus, who immediately had his large cannons up and ready for the coming fight. He tensed when the helicopter made a swift transformation, dislodging the blades from his back just as quick, looking ready to use them on the Autobot Commander.

Brilliant blue optics narrowed at his long time enemy while burning hate-filled red optics met them, a cold and emotionless look upon the mech's face.

"Ultra Magnus." Came a very cold voice from the Minicon.

"Obsidian." The Autobot Commander said just as coldly, his brawny shoulders hunching a little as he readied himself. "Thought you were dead."

Obsidian made no sarcastic huff as some would but turned his burning gaze onto who stood next to his enemy. They narrowed dangerously to see his frozen mate, Nemesis Strika. "Traitorous glitch. I will see your spark removed ad crushed in my servos." He growled.

Nemesis Strika flinched at his cold words but then she blinked in surprise as Ultra Magnus held up an arm as if shielding her from her mate's wraith.

"Leave her the frag alone, Obsidian. She ain't a traitor to you. If anything, you betrayed her first." Ultra Magnus said coldly. "And if I got something to say about it, I will protect her from you!"

Obsidian growled, burning glare narrowing while Nemesis Strika looked at the Autobot with almost awe and surprise. "I will punish my femme the way I see fit!" He snarled.

Something snapped inside of Ultra Magnus and he wasn't even sure what it was. He had not liked the way Obsidian said that about Nemesis Strika at all. He just didn't. The feeling he had coursing through him...it wasn't something he felt before. But it was some kind of rage. It felt almost like...jealousy or...perhaps it was just unadulterated loathing for the way that the helicopter said that.

"She does not belong to you! She belongs to herself! She never even wanted you! She was forced and that wasn't right!" The Autobot Commander snarled as he lunged forward at Obsidian, cannons a blazing.

Obsidian snarled back as he lunged forward, blades swinging at his nemesis and missing as the Autobot ducked low under them. He was suddenly thrown back as the other slammed into his chassis.

All Nemesis Strika could do was watch in awe and surprise. She wasn't sure what it was she was feeling but deep down, she was rooting for Ultra Magnus to win against her long lost mate.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't old Pig."

Groundhog, still in his vehicle form, looked up to see who was approaching him and shrank back a little on his tires to see Sideways and a few Sweeps creeping towards him, weapons out and ready to be used on him.

Immediately, the Decepticon Medic allowed a few of his cannons click out of his sides and point at the approaching mechs. "Stay back or I will fire on you, Sideways." He growled through his radio system.

Sideways sneered at him as he lift his cannon blaster at him but did not fire just yet. "Right. Why don't we just make this easy and you be a good traitor and hand over that girl you have with you? Then we will kill you quickly so you don't have to suffer." He stated.

Groundhog stiffened but backed up until his bumper touched a tree from behind him. "Why do you want Dawn, Sideways?" He asked a hint of warning in his tone.

"Oh, you know why, Groundhog? I got in a lot of trouble cause of her blowing my cover with my master and Galvatron. I want to rip her head off, but can't because I got orders not to. The Fallen would like to see her before she dies. I promise you, he will kill her quickly before..." he was saying.

Suddenly a blur of yellow was blocking his path, flaming rods out and spitting fire while a glare was trained on the silver Minicon.

"You are not touching my sister, pitspawn!" Sunstreaker snarled angrily.

Sideways heaved a long sarcastic sigh before waving to the Sweeps to attack. "Get the girl. I will deal with Mr. Bad Paint Job, here." He ordered before lunging forward.

Snarling in rage, Sunstreaker leapt forward. He was furious with what Sideways had said. No one made fun of his beautiful paint job. "I will kill you, scumbot!" And he clashed hard with the silver Con.

The Sweeps, however, sped towards Groundhog, who was already firing his weapons at the, trying to keep them at bay. He knew he couldn't move fast like he wanted to and he surely couldn't transform with Dawn inside of him. But a few shots missing the swift Sweeps, he braced himself. He knew he would probably get ripped apart but he was not going to let them touch Dawn!

Suddenly, there was a silver flash and swinging blades sliced through the oncoming Sweeps.

Groundhog stiffened, looking up at Sideswipe with surprise. He hadn't expected him jumping in because of how he had been the past few days. But sure enough, Sideswipe was standing in between him and the Sweeps, slicing any in pieces that dared coming at the medic and his sparkmate.

And surprisingly, Barricade was suddenly there beside him, firing at Sweeps and sending them back to the pit where they belonged.

"No one touches my Sunrise!" Sideswipe snarled as he became a dangerous spinning hazard to the enemies threatening his mate.

Both jets slammed into trees and even slammed into the Department Facility gates, startling quite a lot of humans and canines. Alarms began going off at the sight of the battling Transformers that were slamming fists into each other.

But neither mech paid them no mind as they finally broke apart and leapt several yards away from each to glare at one another. They looked exactly alike if not for different coloring and different features of their faces. They both had burning red optics, baring into each other, looking fierce.

"Jetfire." The silver Minicon growled at the sight of his twin.

Jetfire narrowed his burning gaze but then stood up straight, fists at his side. He did not look happy that it was finally coming down to this. He did not forward to fighting his own twin brother. "Jetstorm." He greeted his brother rather calmly. "I would say it is good to see you if you weren't working for our creator."

Jetstorm narrowed his glaring optics but straightened, matching his twin's stance. "You killed me, brother. And he brought me back. It was foolish of you to take my life." He growled.

Sighing heavily, Jetfire did feel some regret for the past. Of what he had done to his own brother. "I am sorry, Storm. But you did get in my way all those years ago. Not that it matters any more. I won't be able to say anything to change your processor. You are Unicron's puppet now, ain't ya?"

"No. I am not. I chose to serve him when he brought me back. He gave me the choice to stay offline or hunt you down. I chose to hunt you down." He said coldly.

Jetfire shook his head, a hint of regret in his optics. He knew that was a lie. "Unicron doesn't give anyone a choice, Jetstorm. Either you acknowledge it or not, you are his puppet. And I have no choice but to free you from his strings." He laughed a miserable but bitter sound. "Looks like we're gonna have to do this then. Just like back in those pitforsaken arenas. Looks like those pit suckers are getting their wish. We are gonna destroy one another." He said darkly.

Jetstorm dipped his head down but glared at his twin. "Are you going to keep talking or are we going to do this?" He asked with a growl.

Again, Jetfire sighed before shifting his feet into a stance and raising his clawed servos. "We are going to do this. Forgive me, brother. But I gotta deactivate you and free you now." He said glumly.

"You wish." Was Jetstorm's reply before he lunged forward to attack.

High above the battles between the grounders, Starscream and Skywarp were busying their selves by shooting down Sweeps. They had caught a glimpse of the humans already running towards the Department Facility. They knew they would be in danger by going in there but it was needed.

Starscream didn't like to see Cole dashing into a dangerous place but he knew she could handle herself. She was a tough human ad knew she would come out just fine.

Suddenly, there was a familiar scream of jet engines, making Starscream's hidden eyes jerk upwards to see that monstrous Cybertronian jet diving downward. He took a moment to see what his target was before speeding through the air to collide with his former master and Leader before he could blind side Optimus Prime.

There was a deafening sound of screeching metal as both jets went careening past the suddenly aware Prime, crashing to the ground, sending trees uprooted and dirt flying everywhere.

Immediately, Starscream leapt off of Galvatron as he swung at him, barely being swiped by sharp claws. He had to dig his servos into the ground, keeping himself from falling forward onto his face.

Snarling, Galvatron turned a glare onto Starscream, pausing to look surprised before growling as he clambered to his feet. "Why don't you just die, already?" He growled, his bulk quite impressive. He did look bigger and powerful than before.

Starscream sneered at his former master, shaking his head. "I won't die until I kill you first." He growled back.

"You will regret the day you were sparked, you incompetent worm!" Galvatron snarled before lunging forward with his fusion cannon a blasting away.

Quickly dodging to side, Starscream brought up his own cannon and fired. He cursed loudly when he missed. But didn't have time to do anything else as he heard a loud thud behind him.

Before he could even turn to see who landed behind him, powerful arms wrapped around his chassis, pinning his own to his body frame. He stiffened for only a moment before trying to break loose. It was nearly impossible for him to break free.

"Get him, Galvatron!" Came the voice of Cyclonus from behind him.

Stiffening, Starscream looked forward to see a sneering Galvatron shifting his fusion cannon into a serrated blade, swinging in it towards his head to dislodge it from his shoulders and wings. It came close and all the Seeker could do was flinch, waiting to be deactivated.

Suddenly, a brilliant fiery orange blade was thrust in between Starscream and the tyrant, allowing the dark blade to bounce right off it before its owner lashed out a foot and slammed it against the tyrant's chest, sending him stumbling backwards only to trip over foliage and crash to the ground with a thunderous thud.

There was a loud crack from behind Cyclonus and then a loud screech of metal slicing across metal before the Minicon snarled out in pain and rage as he released Starscream.

Taking advantage of being freed, Starscream swung around and backhanded the other Seeker across the face, sending him flying backwards and getting thrown over Skywarp's back as he had bent over from behind him and then threw him with all the strength he had.

Turning towards Optimus, the Air Commander nodded his thanks for saving him from Galvatron, who was climbing back to his feet and growling in anger.

Back to back, all three turned their optics onto the two enemies, who was quickly joined by Scourge and a series of his Sweeps. They readied their weapons, knowing this was going to be one pit of a fight.

"Well, this ought to be fun." Skywarp said, glaring at Cyclonus as he thundered closer.

Starscream whirled his arm into his cannon blaster, arming it immediately. He knew it was going to be tough but it would be worth it in the end if he got to kill Galvatron. Though in a way, he knew that honor would be taken by the Prime. It didn't matter to him anymore, really. He just wanted to be there to watch as the light faded out of his former master's optics. "Well, Optimus Prime, let's do this." He said with a slight growl.

Optimus nodded sharply as he kept his burning blue glare on Galvatron, his energy blade raising a little. "I have your wings, Starscream, Skywarp." He promised both Seekers.

"And we have your aftpipe." The dark purple Seeker stated.

As one, all three lunged forward to attack their enemies even as they charged forward, snarling and spitting at them. They quickly moved as if they had recited the entire battle beforehand, weaving in out, sharing their enemies as they came. Optimus would slash at Galvatron, leaving a long gash in his chassis before ducking as Starscream extracted some revenge by kicking the tyrant in the face after slashing Sweeps from the air. He spun around to back hand Cyclonus across the face after Skywarp did a quick impressive body kick with both feet, sending the large Seeker his brother's way. Optimus helped out by sweeping the Minicon's feet from under him, sending the large jet crashing to the ground before rolling around to fire his cannon blaster at Sweeps coming at him.

That was how it went for the majority of the battle.

Both stood facing one another, a red visor baring right into the single red optic of his former team mate, both calm and collected unlike the others fighting all around them. One taller than the other, who was just built wider, yet a good head shorter.

"So, it has come to this. You turn your back on our great leader and I am left to obliterate you." The Decepticon Scientist said in a low, dark voice.

Soundwave said nothing as he just gazed at his former comrade before he opened all of his hatches to release his many arms, allowing them to waver in the air. He had already ejected his subunits, who were taking their own battles to mere Minicon drones and Sweeps. He had barely caught them working together with the Autobot, Cheetor to bringing them down.

Shockwave hmphed before he lift his arm and allowed his laser cannon to twist and shift out. "You were never one with a lot of words, Soundwave. You were always too quiet. I never could have a conversation with you. Your silence was always so irritating. And even more irritating, Megatron always did like you best. So I will not have any regrets dismantling you."

"Outcome of battle: You will not win." Stated Soundwave in his monotone voice.

Shockwave huffed in irritation. "That is another trait you seem to annoy me with. Your short sentences. I will gladly be rid of you." He remarked as he leveled his cannon at Soundwave who did not look worried. "And when I am done with you, I think I will capture your subunits and use them in my upcoming experiment dealing with Dark Energon. They have always annoyed me. So I will have no regrets causing them some pain." He remarked sadistically.

For the first time since he even met Soundwave, Shockwave was surprised to say the least that he saw the Communications Officer's visor flashed and a deep growl emitted from him.

"Touch my younglings and I will rip your vocoder out and shove it up your fragging aft, pitspawn." Soundwave growled viciously, his many arms waving threateningly.

Shockwave stared at him with a bright red optic. He was definitely surprised by that threat. He had never heard Soundwave speak like that before. "So, you can speak normally. Interesting. It just urges me to take up that challenge." He said with a dark chuckle.

Soundwave narrowed his glare from behind his visor before he finally shifted into a position for the fight. "Then I suppose I am just going to have to kill you before you can even try to touch my younglings." He growled before lashing out all of his arms, even as Shockwave began to fire at him.

And the battles raged on while some of the humans were rushing towards the facility to find what they were looking for. The sooner they found Alpha Trion or the All Spark, the better.


	41. Department Secrets

After hell broke loose with all of their friends, all of the humans but Nik, Lennox and Vladimir decided that they needed to get inside the facility and quickly find the All Spark and Alpha Trion. They knew they would only find one at the moment but they needed one of them right away.

So Cole lead everyone else quickly through the trees right into the Department Facility grounds. They had to stop for a few moments to avoid getting shot by the Department agents and guards, who didn't seem to know what the hell they were doing. They were shooting at the Autobots, Decepticons and the Minicons, not knowing who they were supposed to be shooting at.

Not that it mattered a second later because a vibrating sound echoed all around the area before the guns were yanked right out of the guards' hands and landed in Jazz's hands. The human allies glanced at him gratefully before they ran forward to the buildings. The Department guards did notice and moved to intercept them.

However, Cole was the first to rush forward and began slamming one by one to the ground with agility and great skill. She was quickly joined by Reno and Epps. They tackled into the guards and pounded the living hell out of them, knocking them out with their fists or the butts of their guns.

It did not take long at all for the two young adults and three adults to hurry inside.

Cole lead, Epps, Reno, Sam and Trent inside the main facility building, where they, once again, ran into guards. But she, like always, was the fastest to react. She lunged forward, jumping and sliding across the sign in desk and kicking the guards in the faces, knocking them out immediately.

"We need to hurry! Dawn won't last too long! Is there a faster way of finding Alpha Trion?!" Sam called to Cole as she lead them through the halls to a stair well.

Cole shook her head as she ran, scaling the wall to peer around corners. She knew this was going to be hard with the alarms still going off like they were. There were going to be guards everywhere. "I don't know this facility!" She called over her shoulder before aiming her gun and firing a few tranq rounds at Department guards, sending them out cold to the ground. "If it is anything like the US facilities, the main labs will be three floors down! And that is lot of guards that will be in our way! We need to find the main elevator and hope it isn't rigged to a shut down! It would take us right down to the main lab!"

Reno ducked as a guard came at him, swinging his gun butt at his head. He quickly jabbed that guard hard in the stomach before upper cutting him and sending the man to the ground. "Any ideas, people! Dawn and Sides are counting on us!" He yelled over the loud alarms.

Suddenly here was a loud pop and the alarms cut off immediately. The humans paused, looking around before looking around at each other.

"Looks like Frenzy made it to the main controls then! You think he sees us in the security system?!" Epps asked quickly.

Just then, there was a loud ding, making all of them jump and spin around with weapons raised. But it was too their surprise, a wall had rolled away to reveal an elevator.

"I'm thinking that was a yes." Reno said before he and the others dashed towards the elevator and climbed in the steel wall box.

As soon as everyone was on, the doors closed and the whole box began to vibrate as it went down.

"So, when we do find that old robot, how are we gonna bring him back to life? Do any of us have the All Spark shard?" Epps asked looking around at everyone.

That question made everyone freeze before a curse was issued from every one of them. They didn't have the shard. They didn't have any means of reviving Alpha Trion. They were sure that it was Optimus who had the shard. But he was busy with the Minicons outside. So how were they suppose to wake Alpha Trion up?

"We're just gonna have to see what we can do when we get down there." Reno said as he leaned against the elevator wall.

Cole merely shrugged as she stared up at the number screen in the upper corner. "Well, whatever we are going to do, let's be ready. Because we are approaching the floor we are suppose to be on." She told them.

Everyone tensed as they looked at the door, waiting for what horrors would be behind it. They were sure that they were about to see horrendous things hidden in the base. Things that they couldn't imagine possible like out of a horror movie.

They were right.

For when the elevator door opened, all they could do was gape in shock at what they saw.

The lab the elevator had come to was very large. It was as large as the lab is Kansas. But the difference was, within the room, there were so many cylinder containers full of bodies of humans. They were floating in what looking like glowing green water. The bodies were so scientifically altered with metal parts for limbs and such, like cycborgs. It was just like what happened to Sean McCourie.

"Oh my God." Reno said as all of them walked off the elevator onto the cat walk overlooking the entire room.

Carefully walking down the steel stairs, the three adults and two young men looked around at the cylinders, looking at the people inside them. The cylinders were hooked up to machines, stating that they were alive, however. Each had a screen with information about the men and women that had been chopped into pieces and made into hardware.

"It says this one was a sniper in the was in '06." Epps said as he looked at the information. "Was caught in a road side bomb and nearly blasted to pieces. Somehow, this guy survived and was put in something Project Machination. What the hell is Project Machination?"

Cole shook her head as she looked around with a bewildered but horrified look. "I have never heard of it. But these are just like Sean. It looks...it almost looks like the Department was building an army of cyborgs. Look at all of them. There must be at least a hundred of them." She said before walking up to a cylinder a little ways from the others. She frowned at the information in it. "This one looks like he saw some action in Qatar. It says he actually was nearly blown up by a giant metal scorpion."

Epps froze for a moment before he hurried over to her to look at the man inside and he halted with a look of horror and shock on his face. "Sonuvabitch! It's Figs!" He yelped.

Sam and Trent frowned at each other then glanced at Reno and Cole to see they were doing the same. They all couldn't help but gape at Epps, wondering who the man was.

The man inside looked Hispanic in a way, though terrible. He had one cyber kinetic leg, however, as if it had been replaced with a robotic prosthetic. His eyes were closed and like the other people, he had an oxygen mask strapped to his face so he could breathe. He, again like the other men, wore no clothes but grey white shorts.

"What the hell is Figs doing here?!" Epps asked more o himself as he pressed his hands against the glass, peering at his former comrade of arms.

"So you know him?" Trent asked frowning.

Epps nodded as he began looking the cylinder over for a way to open it. "He was serving at Qatar with Will and me when the Decepticons first attacked a couple of years ago. He was hurt by that metal scorpion thing. Will and I thought he had died. So what the hell is he doing here?" He murmured.

Cole shook her head as she folded her arms. "As far as I understand about Hollander, he did have a habit of collecting severely injured people for experiments. He probably either talked to your friend after his recovery in the hospital or he abducted him and experimented on him." She moved closer to the screens. "I can't read this shit. I was never good with medical crap."

"Well, he is alive, like most of these guys and ladies. So we should just leave him until after this whole thing blows over. Maybe Ratchet, Jolt, Groundhog and Nik can do something for them later." Reno stated.

Epps didn't look like he liked the sound of that plan. But he really didn't see a point in arguing at the moment. So, the didn't have much of a choice. They couldn't open all of the containers and let all of these peope out. It might as well kill them. So, without questioning it, everyone began looking around again. They knew they needed to find Alpha Trion as fast as they could. So they split up and began searching throughout the room.

During the whole process, however, they had a scare out of their life.

As Sam and Trent searched a corner of the large room, they heard metal scraping against the concrete floor, causing them to freeze in alarm. They turned slowly towards the sound and jumped when something small and silver came out of nowhere, along with a silvery blue something.

And then relaxed to see Frenzy and Blaster.

"Blaster, what are you doing in here? I thought you were outside with Mirage." Sam said as the two approached them.

Blaster shook his head as he looked up at him before getting into his inner compartment, pulling out the All Spark shard. "Optimus thought you might need this. He is too busy fighting Galvatron right now so he will not be able to give it to you later." He spoke in his small squeaky voice.

Sam and Trent both grinned as they looked at each other and the second took the shard to hand it to his friend.

As soon as his hand touched it, however, there was a flash of light before Trent's eyes and he felt a sharp zap run into his hand and up his arm. He yelped as his eyes closed for a moment.

But even as his eyes closed, Trent felt as if his eyes had opened. He was startled to see himself in a darkened room. He was just standing there, feeling as if he was being choked. There was a suffocating feeling of fear and hate in the air, surrounding him. He didn't understand it at all.

There was a sudden roar of rage and pain, causing Trent to spin around and gape as soon as he saw Optimus standing in front of an enormous being. He recognized him though from a picture he and the others had been showed.

It was the huge Cybertronian called Unicron.

The large being was sneering down at Optimus, who appeared to be pinned down by several cords and wires. The Autobot Leader was struggling hard, trying to free himself but he just couldn't break free.

"Foolish Prime. You really thought that you could extract justice and punishment onto me?!" A powerful, booming voice rattled Trent's bones. "I am God! You cannot defeat me! Nor can you protect my foolish soft sparked brother! I will find him and I will destroy him!"

And without another word, Unicron pulled a long sharp rod protruding from his back and stabbed it through Optimus' chassis, earning a terrible sound of pain.

"No!" Trent cried as he lashed out a hand as if to stop it from happening.

Suddenly there was another flash of brilliant light and Trent's eyes snapped open as he stumbled back. He heard Sam cry out his name but he didn't register it as he fell back against one of the panels to the cylinders.

Hyperventilating, Trent stared wide eyed at the All Spark shard, not believing what he had just seen. He felt a burning sensation on his cheek, near his right eye but he ignored it.

"What the hell just happened?! And what is that on Trent's face?!" Epps asked pointing.

Trent blinked several times before registering what the soldier just said. He lift a hand and touched where it burned. "Wh-what? What is on my face?! What the hell is that?!" He asked almost hysterical now.

Reno stepped forward and grabbed Trent's hand, pulling it away but not without difficulty. "Hey, let me see, Trent!" He ordered. And when Trent relented, he and everyone saw it. "What the...another Cybertronian marking? Just like Sam and Dawn. What the heck does this one say?" He remarked in confusion.

Sam frowned as he peered closer to the curvy symbol that had formed right at the corner of Trent's eye. It was twisted and curved, yet did look kind of cool on his friend's face. It wasn't big but it was noticeable. But nonetheless, Sam could read it. "It says...Sight. I don't get it though. Why now? Why did one appear on Trent? And what happened, Trent? When you touched the All Spark shard, what happened?" He asked.

Trent frowned touching the Cybertronian symbol, slowly shaking his head. "I don't know. When I touched it, something happened. I saw some kind...some kind of vision. I saw Optimus fighting that Unicron guy. He..." his eyes widened as horror kicked in. "Oh my god! It was bad! I saw Unicron kill Optimus!"

Everyone stiffened as they heard that. They didn't like that at all.

"So...what? Was that a vision thing of the future or is it happening now?!" Reno asked completely uneasy.

Trent shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair, gripping his blonde locks tightly. He felt frustrated by what he had seen and couldn't explain it. "I don't know! What I saw...it was kind of dark and scary! I couldn't see anything but Optimus and Unicron! I think it was some kind of warning but..." he was saying.

Blaster frowned before dumping the shard into Sam's hands. "If it was a vision of the future, it has to be Alpha Trion you need to ask. If anyone will know about it, it will be him." He told them.

"Why do ya that, Blast?" Epps asked frowning.

Blaster shrugged as he skittered back a little. "Because I heard Jetfire once telling Optimus Prime about it once. Alpha Trion is the one Prime who had the ability of foresight. He could see into the past and the future." He told them.

Everyone gaped at him, taken aback by the information. They hadn't been prepared for that one.

"Well, let's not worry too much about it. We need to find this Alpha Trion guy..." Reno was saying.

And once again, Trent hissed as something sharp and burning etched into his skin from the marking on his face. He clapped a hand to his head, bending over as sharp pain filled his head.

"Oh, what now?!" Cole asked impatiently.

Before Trent's eyes, he saw a flash and a large door. He felt almost a tug on his entire being as he was suddenly rushed across the room towards the door, which opened as he approached it.

Inside the room, it was dark for a moment but as Trent stepped inside, light monitors seemed to click on. The entire room lit up and he gaped in surprise. The room was mostly empty except one special object that was sitting on a raised, elevated platform.

On the raised platform was a Cybertronian that he recognized as Alpha Trion.

The old Cybertronian looked dead, however. He looked as if someone had taken him apart and poorly put him back together. He was definitely rusted around the edges and torn. His optics were off line and he was completely still.

Butt even as he laid there, his optics began to flicker. 'Come...to...me...boy. We have...no...time...' an ancient sounding voice seemed to speak up.

And then there was a sudden flash.

Trent felt as if his whole body had just jolted from his body and then jumped back in. He had to blink several times to realize that he was still with the others, surrounded by cylinders. He frowned, looking around while Sam was trying to ask what had happened. He didn't answer but spied a pair of large, familiar doors.

"Over there!" He immediately said already running for the doors.

Sam, Reno, Epps and Cole and the two Cybertronians looked at one another before they quickly followed after. They weren't sure where he was going but they weren't going to argue. They just followed after him without any questions.

Coming to the large doors, Trent looked around for how to open it. "Hey! How do you open this?! He's in here!" He said.

Frowning, Cole walked over to a control panel and studied it. She didn't exactly like what she was seeing. "This has a high security lock. Whatever is in here definitely is guarded well. We can't get in there without setting off some security system. The Department does not want anyone in here." She told them.

Frenzy jittered before folding his servos together and crackling his knuckles. He moved over to the control panel, stabbing his servos into the I/O ports.

Suddenly there was an explosion of sparks and the silver Decepticon screeched in sputtered clicks before shooting backwards as if he was thrown backwards and hard.

"Frenzy!" Sam yelped before hurrying over to the small Con and lifting him up. "Are you okay?"

Frenzy merely jittered, sounding quite irritated. He was not happy with what just happened at all. He growled before rushing forward again to try again. The only problem was, the same thing happened.

"This might take a while." Cole said folding her arms and leaning against the wall to watch the persistent Decepticon as he tried again and against to work the doors.

It went on for a good solid ten minutes of watching Frenzy try to attack the locking system only to get thrown back by the security system. He would curse and rush forward again, trying to bypass the locks but get zapped the pits out of him. The humans and Blaster sat down to watch as it went on and on. Reno and Epps began taking bets about how long Frenzy would put up with getting zapped before he got fed up.

It lasted only a little bit longer before Frenzy did get fed up. But instead of pouting like everyone thought he would do, he whirled his small cannons out and began firing the pits out of the control panel. The humans and the Autobot yelled in surprise and ducked as a few bullets went flying in many directions.

Nonetheless, there was a loud spark and pop before the doors slid open.

"Huh. Guess that works too." Epps chuckled as he pushed himself off the platform he had been sitting on.

Everyone made their way into the room, which was dark. They couldn't see too well but after walking into the room, sensors kicked on ad the lights turned on. They finally got to see what was inside the room.

Like in Trent's vision, there was a large platform in the middle of the room. It was raised and elevated, propping up the large silver and golden Cybertronian like a display. The ancient robot looked more like a robot king in all honesty. He had points surrounding his helm ad majestic face. He was almost the same size as Optimus, if not just a little smaller. He had a smaller frame as well. But it was obvious that he was quite the fighter in his days.

But either way, all the humans and two Cybertronians could do was gape at the ancient with awe. They couldn't believe the sight of this one.

"So that is Alpha Trion." Reno said as he moved closer. "He is bigger than I thought he would be."

Sam nodded as he looked up at the mech, cradling the All Spark shard, which was starting to vibrate and pulse. It was as if it sensed a former Prime near by. It definitely wanted him to move closer. So he complied. "All right. So what we need to do is get up to his..." he was saying, making way to start climbing up.

But it didn't seem to be needed. For as Sam moved closer, the shard pulsed in his arms before whipping out of his arms and flying up to Alpha Trion's chest.

There was a loud rumbling vibration before the shard flashed brightly. It sent a brilliant blue light slamming right into the old mech's chest plates, causing him to jerk and a low rumble raised out of him.

Everyone watched with surprise as the once dark optics lit up brightly with a golden blue color.


	42. Saving Mine

The battles were getting worse. It was turning into a huge mess and the human Department agents were not helping by attacking the Autobots and Decepticons. They were only getting in the way so Jazz was running interference by taking their guns away.

The fight between Elita One and Blackarchnia was bad enough. Both were bashing the scrap out of each other. They were just tearing one another a part.

The fight between Ultra Magnus and Obsidian had turned just as nasty.

The Minicon General was slashing the Autobot Commander to pieces with his blades and it didn't seem to bother him. The large Autobot fought fiercely, bashing the helicopter with his mighty fists and doing a lot o damage. He had tore one of Obsidian's wings off during their fight but it did not seem to phase the Minicon at all as he spun in a full circle and slashed a nice gash into Ultra Magnus' leg.

That seemed to be enough to cause the Autobot roaring in pain and crashing to the ground from his disruption function.

Sneering, Obsidian raised his blades and pressed one sharp propeller against his enemy's neck. "The mighty Ultra Magnus finally falls. I have been dying to kill you for eras, Ultra Magnus. Ever since the day we crossed blades and you killed me." He then pulled back his blades and brought it up to slash downward. "Thus ends the Great Leader of the Wreckers!" And he swung downward.

Ultra Magnus did not flinch once as the blades came down at him. He would never show fear or regret for his beliefs to one like Obsidian. He would take his death with pride.

Suddenly, Obsidian's blades slammed against another's, surprising both the attacker and the victim. They both looked up to see the serrated blade belonging to Nemesis Strika.

The Decepticon Femme was growling as she blocked her once mate's blade, stepping over Ultra Magnus almost protectively. "Get the frag away from him, Obsidian! Your battle is with me now!" She snarled.

"Foolish femme! You think you can take me?! Why protect an Autobot as it is?!" Obsidian snarled back as he ripped his blades away from hers and stepped back.

Nemesis Strika glared, blade still raised. She seemed to be considering her words carefully before she hissed in irritation. There was no real way of putting it carefully. So she would just say it. "I want a divorce, Obsidian! I will no longer be your interface toy or way of bearing Sparklings! I know that the reason I cannot bear your sparklings is not because of me! It is you! You are the sterile one! I cannot bear your sparklings because I m not your sparkmate! I did not choose you with my spark! My spark chooses him!"

There was a surprised pause as both mechs stared up at her. They couldn't believe what she just said.

"What? What the frag are you talking about, glitch?! Your spark chooses him?! An Autobot?! It cannot choose him! You belong to me!" Obsidian growled.

Nemesis Strika sneered back at him. "My spark never belonged to you! I only became your mate as an act of duty to the Decepticon cause! But you never earned my spark! He did! He may not want me, and I sure as the pits don't blame him! But I will not allow you to harm my desired!" She snarled before readying herself. "Prepare to be dumped, Obsidian! I have had enough of your pompous and holier than thou attitude! I always believed I was never good enough for you! Well guess what?! You were never good enough for me!" She snapped.

Obsidian growled before he lunged forward, swinging his blades towards her head.

"Strika! Watch...out?" Ultra Magnus had been shouting but was cut off in surprise as he watched her move.

Nemesis Strika had jerked backwards, though not moving her feet. She had simply bent over backwards without losing her balance before spinning around in her sideways position and lashing out a foot, slamming it into Obsidian's chassis. It sent him staggering back with a rather nasty dent in his frame.

Boy, did he look surprised once he stabled his footing.

Nemesis Strika sneered as she stood in a crouched stance, ready for the next move that her ex-mate pulled on her. "You really think I am going to let you strike me again like I have let you for thousands of vorns whenever you were angry?! Bullslag!" She snapped before she twisted her arm into her cannon. She raised it and fired at him with a thunderous boom. "I am done with being your punching can, Obsidian!" And she charged forward as the blast distracted him.

Obsidian had managed to avoid getting hit by the cannon blast but he hadn't been prepared for when she slammed her fist into his face, sending him staggering back. He whirled around to back hand her but missed again when she spun on her heel, ducking closer to him until their chassis' were barely touching. He froze for a megaclick, however.

"And I am done with you!" Nemesis Strika snapped before she slammed her cannon against the Minicon's chest armor. "See you in the Pits, Obsidian!"

And she blasted his chest apart with that final shot.

Pieces and energon went flying as Obsidian saw his last visionary of Nemesis Strika. He grunted out in pain as his legs gave out from under him, allowing him to fall. "Nem-Nemesis..." he merely said before his optics flickered off line.

Smugly, the powerful femme shook her head as she raised her cannon and placed a fist onto her hip plate. "The name is Strika, glitch! Nemesis Strika is no more!" She snapped before turning to look at the stunned Ultra Magnus. She smiled faintly before walking over and offering her hand to him. "You okay, Magnus?"

Ultra Magnus had to grin as he reached up and took her hand, allowing her to pull him up. "I'm fine. But what brought this on?" He asked her.

Formerly as Nemesis Strika shook her head as she looked over at her ex-mate. "He was hurting you. I couldn't let..." she was saying.

"Not that. You said your spark is calling out for mine. What brought that on? And for how long?" Ultra Magnus asked smirking at her.

Her face plates heating up, Strika looked away in embarrassment. "Oh. That. Well...honestly, since I first met you. Back on Cybertron. I just didn't say anything because you are an Autobot and I am a Decepticon. Plus I was already mated with Obsidian." She said gloomily. "It wouldn't have worked out as it..."

Again she was interrupted but this time, she was the one surprised.

For Ultra Magnus grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him as he wrapped a thick arm around her wide waist. He then pressed his forehead against hers, surprising the slag out of her. But nonetheless, she vented softly as her optics flickered pleasantly.

After a moment, Ultra Magnus pulled away and smiled down at her. "I think when this is over, we have a lot to talk about." He told her.

Strika merely smiled back.

Explosions rocked the entire area as Starscream dodged a blow sent at him from Galvatron's cannons. He snarled as the fire and energon barely clipped his wing tip, but he ignored it as he spun away from another blow coming at him by the serrated blade.

This one, however, was sent slamming into the jungle ground as Optimus slammed his fire energon blade upon Galvatron's to protect the new High Lord Protector. He lashed out with a fist and slammed it against his former brother of arms' face, sending him staggering.

"Y'all right, Starscream?!" The Prime called as he placed a hand onto the Seeker's shoulder.

Starscream growled but nodded. "I'm fine! It is nothing but a small burn!" He then snarled in pain as a sharp jolt spread out through his systems and he jerked around to find Skywarp had been slammed down by Cyclonus. "Slaggit!" He snarled.

Optimus quickly waved at Starscream as he was charging forward at Galvatron. "Go save Skywarp! I can deal with Galvatron!" He bellowed before meeting blades with him in a loud crack.

Starscream did not have time to show any gratitude to the Prime. He rushed forward as he watched Cyclonus start to raise his cannon towards his brother's head, heating it up to blast it off.

Rushing forward, the Seeker slammed into Cyclonus to knock him off of Skywarp and sent the fired blast off course and slamming into a group of trees. It had been like running into an unstable wall, however. The much bigger Seeker Minicon only side stepped with a grunt before whirling around and slamming a fist into Starscream's face, sending him flying back to the ground.

Screeching in pain, Starscream stumbled, landing hard on the ground. He could taste energon in his mouth, dribbling down the corner. That had hurt a little too much.

Before he could get back to his feet, a large foot slammed onto his wing, pinning him down and denting it terribly.

Starscream screamed in pain as he felt his wing nearly bent in half. He jerked his head up to send a scathing glare up at Cyclonus as he once again raised his cannon towards his head. He knew there was no way of escaping this. He saw Skywarp struggling to get up but with his own bent wings, it was rather difficult. He could see everyone else was too occupied with their own troubling battles. The Sweeps were everywhere and had even combined into a large form that looked awfully like a giant metallic worm he remembered being called Drillers. He saw Soundwave still fighting Shockwave, with some assistance from his subunits. Elita One was locked in a deadly battle with Blackarachnia. The twins were working with Groundhog to protecting Dawn and even Nik from Sideways, who always had been a tough bot to fight.

It was a mess.

Ironhide had seemed to notice Starscream's dangerous situation and was trying to come to his aid but he kept getting blocked off by a Decepticon or Minicon.

"You have always been so annoying." Cyclonus growled down at Starscream, who glared at him. He began to heat up his cannon, ready to blast the other Seeker into pieces. "Prepare to die."

Starscream growled as he struggled to getting Cyclonus' big foot off of him but was finding it hard to do. "If I die, at least I died in battle." He growled back.

Cyclonus just shook his head as he began to fire. He wasn't going to spare any more words for this Seeker. He was just going to kill him.

But even as he began to fire his cannon, he missed the shrill whistle echoing in the air. Everyone did. But Starscream had seen something come flying down through the clouds at a high speed, leaving a trail of mist ad smoke behind it. All he could do was frown in confusion before he realized it was a missile.

And that missile slammed into the back of Cyclonus' head, exploding on impact. Fire, metal and smoke exploded in all directions, leaving a headless Cyclonus just standing there before starting to fall back right off of Starscream.

Stunned, all Starscream could do was gape in alarm. And then he frowned as music exploded in the sky, causing all battles to falter and look around in confusion.

It was the song called Thunderstruck by ACDC.

"Hey! Starscream! Looks like you could use a servos down there?"

Startled, Starscream looked around with alarm as he heard that voice. He could not believe it! And neither could Skywarp as he jerked his head around to look towards the sky.

"Th-Thundercracker?!" Both stumbled in alarm.

Suddenly a large dark blue jet came careening out of the clouds, causing the two Seeker brothers to brighten up as it came flying downward. "Screamer, Warp, I am sorry for being an aft earlier. I didn't mean any of it. You were right. We gotta stick together. We are a trine. We have to stay together." Their brother's voice called to them through the radio system.

Starscream and Skywarp felt joy race through their sparks as they smiled upward at their brother. "You came back!" They cried out together.

"Oh, like one Seeker is going to make any difference!" Ironhide grunted in irritation as he growled at the Decepticon who he was fighting. The battles were starting up again.

There came an amused chuckle as Thundercracker heard that. "One Seeker?" He asked in amusement. "How about seven Seekers?"

There was an almost startled pause as a few optics trailed upward in surprise.

"Wh-what?" The Autobot Weapons Specialist asked.

Suddenly, right above the dark blue Jet came multiple colors of jets speeding downward out of the clouds. There were six Seekers with Thundercracker, speeding downward and already beginning to fire their rapid shots at the Sweeps and Minicons.

There were two F 22 Raptors, one F 35 Lightning II, two F 15 Eagles, and an XB70 Valkyrie careening down to join the fight.

Starscream and Skywarp gaped in surprise. They could not believe their optics. Their brother had returned with his own army of Seekers. Maybe not very many but they still came.

"The Coneheads and the Triple Changers?!" Starscream yelped.

Suddenly there was the sound of a whip snapping and the combined form of the Sweeps screeched in alarm and pain. It was followed by a series of booms from cannons. Everyone jerked around only to gape as Hook lead the Constructicons onto the battlefield. The sadistic Decepticon medic was holding a pair of actual chains he used as whips. He had one wrapped up around the Sweeps.

"Constructicons! Combine as Devastator!" Hook bellowed before he began to shift and transform into his large Cat tractor form.

Together, the Constructicons did the same, slamming into each other and forming the massive Decepticon. As soon as Devastator was formed, he lunged forward and began attacking the Sweep monster.

"Well, I'll be! Looks like things are turning around for us!" Jazz called out with a large grin.

Of course, in the moment of distraction, Sideways took advantage of the situation and slammed into Groundhog, causing the Decepticon to roar out in pain. He slammed him into a tree and began slicing into the medics roof to get to Dawn.

"Dawn! No!" Sideswipe yelled and began rushing forward.  
However, slicing open the Decepticon ambulance's back and finding the severely injured human female, Sideways sneered and raised his servos to slice at her. "Time to die, human wretch!" He snarled and started to swing.

Sideswipe let out a roar of anger and fear, knowing he couldn't get here in time. He was followed by Sunstreaker, who shared his roar.

But before Sideways could finish what he started, a long sharp pointed staff slid between him and Groundhog, deflecting his servos. It swung upward and knocked him right off into the air.

Startled, the twins stopped to gape at the golden and silver mech who just appeared out of nowhere.

"I am afraid I cannot allow you to harm the All Spark's chosen of Life carrier, young mech." Came a thick British accent from the mech, causing once again a pause in the battles. Even Optimus had turned from Galvatron to look on with surprise t the massive sized Cybertronian, who had several humans sitting right on his shoulders.

"Hey! Optimus! We brought Alpha Trion!" Reno called grinning as he stood right on the old mech's shoulder, holding tightly to a pipeline.


	43. Wanna See A Trick

Alpha Trion stood proudly over Groundhog, even as everyone gaped at him in surprise. No one had expected him to suddenly show himself. Nonetheless, he was an impressive sight.

Almost as tall as Optimus, yet not as broadly built, Alpha Trion did look quite intimidating. There was a sense of power wavering off of him. He honestly looked as if he was a King or a powerful wizard. His golden optics surveyed the area for only a moment before looking over at Elita One. He smiled faintly and she returned it with a dip of her head. He then looked over at Optimus. "Optimus Prime, how long it has been since we have shared words. I am glad to see you are doing well." He spoke with his powerful voice.

Optimus merely huffed in amusement before glancing at the growling Galvatron. "As well as it could be, I suppose." He stated.

Alpha Trion shrugged before waving a hand into the air. "Ah, well, beggers cannot be choosers. Carry on then." He said before turning back to Groundhog.

It was rather comical really. But everyone did just that. The moment those words were out of the old mech's vocoder, the battles struck back up.

"Now then. Let us see our Life carrier. Groundhog, you will be all right. But allow me to take the young femme you have with you." Alpha Trion said before looking at Sideswipe when he stepped forward growling. He did not look offended, however, just amused. "Do you want me to save your sparkmate or not?"

Sideswipe sighed but stepped back. "Yes, please. Forgive me, Alpha Trion..." he was saying.

Alpha Trion tsked loudly waggling a finger at him. "Ah, ah. None of that, dear boy. It is your sparkmate you are worried about. So I understand completely. I would have been offended if you had not started growling at me." He then reached down carefully to pick up Dawn as Groundhog rolled her out from his back. He picked her up as if she was just a baby bird, frowning as he looked her over. "Oh, dear. This is serious. She is barely alive. There is so much damage done to her frame that she is already shutting down." He said sounding concerned.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker both whimpered painfully at that. The humans looked merely worried.

"Can you do nothing for her then?" Nik asked painfully. "She is dying?"

Alpha Trion sighed softly as he carefully lift Dawn up to his face plates, scanning her body with his optics. "I did not say that. I just said it was serious. As it is, I will need to act quickly if we want to save her." He then looked seriously at Sideswipe. "How much do you love her, young mech? Would you love her no matter what she becomes after this?" He asked.

Sideswipe looked almost offended at that question. "She is my life. I would love her no matter what. I would die for her. So, yes. Whatever happens now, I will always love her. She is my Sunrise...er!" He jumped a little like everyone when an explosion came a little too close.

Alpha Trion, however smiled. "Sunriser, hm? Well then, I will do it." He reached up and carefully offered his hand to the humans. "Down you lot go. I need as much space as I can." He stated.

Once the humans were off, the old mech held out a hand to Sam. "The shard, if you please. I will need that."

Sam blinked several times before he quickly placed the shard into Alpha Trion's hand. "Sure. But how is the shard suppose to help? We already tried that." He said frowning in confusion.

Alpha Trion smiled faintly as he stood to his full height and stepped back away from all, still holding Dawn gently in his hand. "You did not have all of the All Spark, my boy. Speaking of which," he looked around narrowing his optics. "Where is that...ah! There it is! Lady and gents, I hear you, humans, like magic tricks. Here is one for you." He said before raising the shard and shuttering off his optics.

"What the hell is he talking about?" Cole asked frowning as she put her fists on her waist.

Reno shook his head and shrugged at the same time. He shared the same confused look with Nik and Epps as they watched Alpha Trion just stand there with the shard raised. Trent and Sam frowned at one another before shrugging.

And then the ground began to shake and rumble under their feet.

There was a distant explosion as well as the rumbling was getting louder. It sounded like almost metallic rumbles before a sound of something was falling out of the sky.

It was Lennox who noticed it first. He glanced up towards the sky before he yelped and pointed up. "Look!" He cried out.

Everyone jerked their heads up only to yelp in alarm as they watched something very large fall towards them. They all scattered and even some of the Autobots and Decepticons had to dive out of the way to avoid getting smashed into the ground.

But nonetheless, everyone gaped at the large cube that crashed into the ground with a thunderous boom, sitting before the group.

"Whoa! Is that...that is the All Spark?!" Reno asked, amazed at the sheer size of it.

Sam looked up at Alpha Trion, wide eyed and full of shock. "Ho-how did you do that?!" He asked stunned.

Alpha Trion just smiled as he raised his hand with the All Spark shard. He did nothing to stop it as it vibrated and pulsed before flying through the air and slamming itself into a grove of the huge cube. He, and everyone, watched as the many symbols and curves of the Cybertronian markings lit up with an almost heavenly blue light as the shard became one with the new All Spark.

"The All Spark may be an object of power but it is full of life. It has a multiple of lives within it. It is not sentient but it is alive." Alpha Trion explained. "All I did was call for it with its lost piece. It responded to the call because it needs to be in full power. With the All Spark being whole now, ad returning the power your young friend possesses within her, we will restore her. But the one thing that must be done to saving her will take time. So once I begin working on her, I will need you to protect the All Spark."

Sam, Trent and the others frowned but nodded. They didn't understand but they weren't about to ask questions. "Okay. We can do that." The first spoke.

Alpha Trion shook his head as he looked straight to Sideswipe. "It is not you who needs to prove himself. It is you, Sideswipe. You must protect the All Spark while I work on your femme." He told him.

Sideswipe frowned but slowly nodded. "I can do that. But why do I need to protect the All Spark? And how? Its huge! I can't do it by myself." He said frowning.

Alpha Trion merely smiled as he started walking towards the All Spark. "You will if you wish to protect your femme." He told him as he walked right up to the cube. He looked up at it before touching a symbol on the rugged metal.

There was a low vibrating sound before the symbol glowed brightly and the metal began to shift. Everyone watched in surprise as an opening appeared behind the shifting metal. It was opening up like a door way. Brilliant white light began to pour out, nearly blinding all who looked into the light.

"What are you doing? What's happening?!" Sideswipe asked in alarm.

Alpha Trion smiled as he gazed into the light before he stepped forward into the opening. "You shall see in a moment's time. But as soon as I begin, you must protect the All Spark. I am sensing The Fallen's approach. He wishes to destroy it. If he gets his servos on it, we will have a problem. Protect the All Spark, Sideswipe. Along with Optimus Prime's assistance." He told him before looking over at Groundhog. "Groundhog, why don't you join me? You could use a little repairing yourself." He stated to him.

"Uh, okay." The Decepticon said before rolling forward. He took a moment to transform into his bipedal form, hissing a little in pain. His injuries from Sideways was taking a toll on him. But once he transformed he followed Alpha Trion into stepping into the large cube.

As soon as they were inside, the metal shifted and closed behind him and Dawn.

Just then, the All Spark clicked loudly before a multiple of clicks followed as the All Spark began breaking down, folding into itself. Everyone watched in amazement and shock as the All Spark shrank down until it was a size Sam and Bumblebee was familiar with.

"Whoa. That. Was. Cool." Reno said as he stared at the now small cube sitting in the jungle grass.

Sideswipe stepped forward, bent down and picked up the cube. He held it up, staring at it. "They are inside this? How...how did he do that? I am totally confused." He remarked holding up the All Spark.

"You and me both, bro." Sunstreaker said as he eyed the cube.

"Hey, who is The Fallen again?" Cole suddenly asked, in confusion.

There was a pregnant pause before eyes snapped wide open. It hit them of what Alpha Trion had said just a moment ago. They remembered him saying that The Fallen was approaching.

"Oh, slag." Barricade remarked from close by, having heard what the old mech had said.

Suddenly a powerful gust picked up all around them before there was a loud crack from right before them. An explosion sounded as jungle trees were sent flying everywhere and loose debris.

Everyone jumped, spinning on their heels before some kind of wave hit the Transformers hard, sending most of them flying in many directions. Sideswipe and the humans were nearly the only ones who remained standing right where they were, surprised by what happened.

In the middle of what looked like a dust storm of organic debris and sparks stood a very intimidating figure. Something that could only be from someone's nightmares.

The Fallen was nothing like Sam or his fellow humans had ever seen before. They couldn't help but look on him with shock and fear as he stood tall with a sharp staff in his servos. His burning nightmarish optics were glaring right at Sideswipe, eyeing the All Spark with a dark hunger.

"Give me that, boy, and I will may let you live to become my subordinate." His croakish, rusted voice spoke out, sending shivers down everyone's spines.

Sideswipe cowered back, hugging the All Spark close to him before he quickly opened up his inner compartment and stuffed the cube inside. He lashed out both arms, emitting his ten foot blades. "Slag off! You're not getting it!" He said almost shakily.

The Fallen growled before he aimed his staff at him. "Poor decision. Now you die." He remarked before the end of the staff glowed a dangerous red.

A visible wave of energy shot from the end and slammed into Sideswipe, sending him flying through the air with a loud cry of pain.

"Sides! No!" Sunstreaker cried before he was on his wheels, charging forward. "You son of a glitch! I will kill you!" He snarled.

The Fallen merely pointed his staff and sent Sunstreaker flying through the air like his twin. He completely ignored the humans as he began moving towards the fallen Sideswipe, looking quite threatening.

"Shit! We have to stop him! He cannot get to the All Spark!" Reno yelled starting to charge after while raising his gun to start firing.

"Sam, Trent, Nik! Get to cover! Now!" Lennox yelled hurrying after.

The three humans were quick to obeying the order while Lennox, Epps and Cole began firing at the dangerous mech.

trembling in pain, Sideswipe felt as if liquid fire had been poured into his fuel lines and it was getting worse as he heard The Fallen coming towards him. His entire frame felt heavy as if something was weighing him down. He could barely move.

But then the gunfire began and for only a brief moment, the heaviness went away.

Sideswipe was quick to getting to his feet and turning with a jerk, raising his blades to defend himself. He stiffened when he saw The Fallen turning towards the humans. He knew they had just painted target signs on their chests. Especially with the nasty bot glaring at them. "Slaggit!" He swore before looking around for Optimus. He found his Leader still fighting Galvatron with Starscream's help. "Optimus!"

Hearing Sideswipe, Optimus glanced over at him and then back to his enemy brother but then jerked back around to see the new arrival. He did not know who that was but he could sense a sinister power about him. He knew that must have been The Fallen that Starscream warned him about.

Starscream had seen him too and swore. "That is him! That is The Fallen!" He confirmed Optimus' fears.

Optimus nodded before he looked back at Galvatron who was charging again. He readied himself, though was torn to going to help Sideswipe. He had seen what happened before, seeing what Alpha Trion had done. He honestly hadn't known that they could open the All Spark like that. It just added another mystery to it.

But before Optimus could engage with Galvatron, Starscream moved in between them, surprising both.

"Go! Prime, go take out The Fallen! I will handle this! Remember as Jetfire had told you before! Only a Prime can kill him!" The Seeker called to him.

Optimus nodded sharply with a determined look before he turned and charged towards his frontline soldier and the enemy. He knew that this might be the only chance he could stop Unicron from showing up before he did.

The Fallen had been stalking towards the humans, who were backing away. He had not been amused by their attacks on him earlier and he looked forward to squishing them.

"Hey, ugly! Thought you wanted the All Spark!" Sideswipe yelled trying to get his attention again. He did not want his human friends getting hurt for trying to protect him.

The Fallen growled before turning back towards the Autobot. He didn't need to be reminded of what he wanted. He also didn't want to be shot at by inferior weapons.

So waving his staff, The Fallen sent an energy wave towards the humans, hitting them. Cole, Lennox and Epps yelped as they went flying backwards, hitting the ground hard and knocking the air out of their lungs. Then only did the sinister mech made his way towards Sideswipe, who turned to run.

There was a vibration noise before a nasty magnetic pull yanked him back, sending him skidding towards The Fallen.

Sideswipe yelped as he went flying back only to cry out when The Fallen slammed a foot down on his chest, denting his chassis. He groaned in pain before glaring up at him and cupping his hands over his chassis. "You can't have it! I won't let you have my Sunrise!" He snarled.

The Fallen growled down at him, shaking his head. "I care not for your filthy human, mechling. I wish only to dispose of the one of the objects that is stopping my master from arriving to this pitiful planet." He growled before raising his staff and making way to plunging its sharp end into Sideswipe's chest to where the All Spark was hidden.

Suddenly, something, or rather someone slammed into The Fallen, knocking him off of Sideswipe and sent him flying.

Surprised, Sideswipe looked up only to see Optimus standing over him, protectively. He felt his air filters vent in relief as he carefully got to his wheels. "Sir, thank you." He told his Leader gratefully.

Optimus did not take his eyes off of The Fallen but nodded all the same. He just raised his energon blade, glaring at the sinister mech. "Sideswipe, protect the All Spark. Under no circumstances must it fall into The Fallen's hands. I will do what I can to take him down." He merely tilted his head towards the humans as they stood. "My young friends, get to cover. Protect yourselves. We, the Autobots and the Decepticons will deal with the threats." He told them.

The humans nodded as they ducked into the trees, and right on time too.

Because when The Fallen saw Optimus, he hissed viciously before thrusting his staff at him, sending a powerful wave of energy at the Prime. The energy wave hit Optimus hard but surprisingly to all that even watched, all it did was rock him on his feet.

Optimus frowned with a grunt from the force but chose not to question of why he wasn't sent flying like everyone else. He just charged forward, swinging his energy sword.

The Fallen hissed again as he raised his staff, sending another wave but the results were the same. "Foolish Prime! You think you can face me and survive?! I will render you useless!" He snarled.

"We shall see who wins this battle, Fallen!" Optimus snarled back as he slashed his energy sword down at the sinister being. And struck true. His blade left a nasty mark down The Fallen's chassis, causing his enemy to roar in rage and pain.

The most epic battle Optimus Prime had ever been in was only about to begin.

In the mean time, Sideswipe was retreating away from the fight, not wanting to get caught up in it. He knew better than to get in between his Prime and his enemy. He would only ne skewered.

Just then, something slammed into him, sending him crashing into the ground with a painful grunt. He felt something on his back, slashing into his back armor as if trying to rip him open.

"Give me the All Spark, glitch! I am going to rip your filthy human girlfriend to pieces!" Sideways snarled from on top of the Autobot.

Growling in between pain and rage, Sideswipe slammed his hands down against the jungle ground and shoved up as hard as he could to get the Minicon off of him. It worked for the most part. He felt Sideways slide right off so he took that opportunity to swing around and kick his enemy hard in the chest to get him away.

Sideways merely stumbled back but did not allow himself to fall. He growled before leaping forward at Sideswipe again, only this time to get slammed into by another. He stumbled a little before growling at Sunstreaker as he stood next to his twin.

"You mess with one twin, you mess with both twins, glitch!" Sunstreaker growled, not seeming to care at the moment that he had scrapes all over him.

Sideways growled before shifting his arms into cannons. "I will enjoy killing you both annoyances. You are nothing but trouble." He growled.

"We aim to please, Sideways aftpipe." Sideswipe growled right back before he and Sunstreaker leapt forward to begin their fight with their enemy. It was time to take him down for good.

Watching the battles from the trees, Sam couldn't help but shake his head. He couldn't believe this was getting out of control like this. It was a mess.

"Who do you think will win?" Epps asked looking at Optimus and The Fallen battling each other.

"Optimus, I hope. I am too afraid to think of The Fallen winning." Lennox remarked as he watched.

Reno huffed but nodded in agreement. He was betting on Optimus taking down The Fallen. He knew his Cyber partner was tough. Everyone did. But it still worried him. He knew if The Fallen won the fight, things were going to get very ugly ad very fast.

Turning to look Cole, Reno opened his mouth to say something only to pause. He blinked several times before reaching over to tap Lennox on the shoulder. "Hey, uh...Will? Where did Cole go?" He asked.

Everyone else turned to look and froze to see that Cole had disappeared.

"Um...did...do you think she went back to the Department facility?" Trent asked frowning.

Lennox sighed before pushing himself up. "I swear, she is as bad as you two." He shot to the two youngest.

"Hey!" Sam and Trent piped up.

"Come on. Let's go look for her. Make sure she isn't in putting herself in danger." Epps said dragging the two after him.

And back to the facility they went.


	44. That New Car Smell

Pure white.

That was all she saw when she opened her eyes. She saw just pure, blinding, excruciating white. It mostly confused her. She didn't know where she was. Nor did she...

She paused, frowning. There was something wrong. She was drawing up a blank on everything. She tried to think of how she came to be in this white room she saw around her. She tried to think. But the more she tried, the worse she felt. She didn't know anything. Her mind was completely blank.

'Where am I?! Why am I here?! And most of all...who am I?!' She thought frantically.

She couldn't even figure out her own name.

"Ah, I see you have came out of recharge. Sooner than I thought then." Came a gentle but booming voice.

Nearly jumping out of her...what, skin? She didn't even know the term or word for it. She turned sharply to see a massive being made out of metal before her and she shrank back. No, there were two of them. Though why the strange yellowish orange one was looking at her with shock, it was beyond her. She didn't understand what was going on, however. She didn't know them. She didn't even know herself. What was going on? What was happening?

"Who...who are you? Where am I? What's happening?" She asked timidly before biting her lip nervously and cowering. "Wh-who am I?"

Again, the yellowish-orange being looked shocked and horrified by that question. "Wh-what? You don't even know who you are?!" He spun to face the older mech. "Alpha Trion! What has happened to her?!"

The girl shrank back nervously but the old mech waved him away, dismissively. "Calm down, Groundhog. She is fine. It is because her spirit is out of her body that she is disoriented. As of now, she is a ghost. But we will fix that." He told him.

"I...I am a wh-what?!" She asked fearfully. "I am dead?!"

Moments before, Alpha Trion and Groundhog had entered the brilliant white light that was within the All Spark. It was too bright for the Decepticon to see at the moment but once he adjusted his optics, he blinked in surprise.

Within the All Spark, it looked like a white room. A way too bright white room.

But inside it, there were two medical berths, along with strange looking blue lights floating about the enormous room. It took him a moment to even realize what they were. He realized they were sparks. There were so many floating around him, perhaps hundreds. They were small but larger than fireflies. Each was swooping towards the two, causing him to tense up.

"It's all right, Groundhog. They won't harm you." Alpha Trion reassured him as he stepped towards the berths.

Groundhog watched as the sparks flew around him, looking as if curious. They were prodding at him and even at his wounds, causing him to hiss in pain. The sparks drew back as if alarmed but then gently setting against the gashes in his chassis, glowing brightly.

And surprising, the ruined metal began to meld back together, as if repairing. Groundhog felt the pain melting away as he was repaired immediately. He stared in wonder at what was happening. "How did they...!" He was asking in alarm.

Alpha Trion made a sound as if amused. "The mysteries of sparks and the All Spark. Think of it this way, these sparks was once a part of a greater being that we all know and cherish." He said as he gently laid Dawn down on the berth before him.

Curious, Groundhog walked forward, looking down at her. "How are we going to help Dawn? Can they," he motioned to the many sparks. "Heal her too?" He asked carefully and full of hope.

There was a heavy sigh as Alpha Trion shook his head, gently running a large finger down Dawn's side. "No. They cannot. She is not Cybertronian. The genetic makeup of humans is too complex for our technology and spirituality to repair wounds such as hers. At least...not without nanobots." He said as he opened a compartment in his arm and millions of small beads began pouring out, covering Dawn. "However, it is already too late to save her body. She has already begun to shut down."

Groundhog's spark seized with dread and sorrow. He should have seen this coming. He and Ratchet had known this might happen. "Then...what are we going to do? We cannot go back out there to tell Sideswipe she has died. It will kill him if not kill Ratchet. And Optimus Prime. To them, she is their sparkling." He said painfully. "Not to mention Starscream! He has grown too fond of her."

"When we leave the All Spark, we will not be leaving with Dawn Jade Adams, Groundhog." Alpha Trion said gently before he looked up towards the vast ceiling of the room. "She is in your power now, my dear Lord Primus."

Groundhog frowned in confusion. He didn't understand. What did...?

"Begin the procedure, my child. The All Spark is yours to create." Came a gentle, but powerful voice echoing all around them and even through them.

Groundhog had froze in surprise at the heavenly sound. He looked frantically for who the voice belonged to but did not see any one else but himself, Alpha Trion, Dawn and the sparks. "Pri-Primus?" He murmured weakly.

Alpha Trion nodded, ignoring the stunned medic beside him. He just raised his hands, spreading them wide as if he was about to preach. "All Sparks, you know what must be done. So let it be done." He said in a strong proud voice.

Suddenly, there was a gentle thrumming as all of the sparks stopped floating all at once. They began to glow brightly before suddenly moving as one. They began swirling and spinning in the air like a cyclone directly above the young human on the berth. It was a wondrous sight for Groundhog.

The tip of the spark cyclone slowly descended until it touched Dawn's chest where a brilliant white light formed like a portal.

And from the strange mystical portal came a golden aura, trailing upwards. It looked like a golden spark.

"Wh-what is happening?" Groundhog asked in horror as he watched the golden spark begin to float around, mixing with the blue sparks.

The sparks floated with the wavering golden one, which looked quite disoriented. It seemed confused as it flew around the room until stopping in the corner where it cowered. Even with the blue ones looking like they were trying to comfort its fears.

Alpha Trion looked sadly at the golden spark before turning back to the body of the now inactive body of Dawn. "She is dead. That is her spark. Humans have sparks too, my young mech. They call them souls while we call them sparks. Whether the humans believe in them or not, it is their choice. But this is the truth." He said gently.

Groundhog felt his spark sink. "Can...can Sideswipe feel her...death?" He asked horrified.

Alpha Trion shook his head as he gently caressed the deceased. "No. The All Spark is blocking their connection so he will not feel it." He then turned when he heard a squeak. "Ah, I see you came out of recharge sooner than I thought."

Groundhog looked and started in horror to see the small shape and form of Dawn, yet she still looked golden colored and quite transparent. He couldn't believe this.

A few words were exchanged and it was revealed that she couldn't remember anything. She was completely confused of everything. It was incredibly sad and it made Groundhog's spark weep for her. She couldn't remember that she had a sparkmate who would be devastated by her death.

"I...I am a what?! I am dead?!" Dawn gasped in horror.

"Temporarily, my dear." Alpha Trion said gently before he looked back around the room. "Begin the process, my All Sparks. We shall rebuild her." He stated, confusing both Dawn and Groundhog.

Again, the sparks moved as one, yet it seemed the room had dimmed with a brilliant blue light as they moved. They began settling upon the second berth, along with the nanobots, twisting and forming. It was amazing to say the least.

First, the nanobots began forming a frame. They began building into their selves, solidifying into a protoform of a femme.

"Wh-what...what is that?"

Alpha Trion looked down to see that Dawn had moved closer o watch in interest. He smiled before settling a hand onto her transparent head. "That is Sunriser, my little one. She is being reborn, recreated." He told her softly. "And she will be magnificent. A Technorganic, however."

Both Dawn and Groundhog looked at him in surprise. They didn't understand but it was starting to dawn on the Decepticon.

"You mean...?!"

Alpha Trion smiled at Groundhog and nodded. "Half human, half Cybertronian. A Transformer that will be perfectly capable of human emotions and feelings." Then he turned his optics back onto the nanobots as they began forming the rest of the body. "Dawn, you will return to the world in a strange way. People you will love will not forget what will happen. You will the first Technoranic of your race. Humans will want what you have but they can only be granted this gift if they are pure in heart and deserve such as this."

"Dawn...?!" The little human ghost asked frowning in confusion before her eyes snapped wide open as it all came to her. She was rushed with so many memories that it caused her to choke in alarm. She slapped a hand over her mouth and if she could, she would be sobbing. "Oh, my god! Sides! My husband! My family! The Autobots! I died! My fath-father shot me! He killed me!"

Alpha Trion frowned down at her before he carefully lift her up into his hands, bringing her close to his face plates. "Shhhh. Calm down, my little one. It will be all right." He told her soothingly.

Dawn trembled, curling up in his hand into a tight ball. "Ho-how will it be all right?! I am dead! Sideswipe...!" She cried.

Alpha Trion gently ran a finger down her see through back, rubbing it softly. "You will see him again through new eyes, my dear. I swear it." He promised.

Trembling, Dawn leaned back against his finger before looking down and frowning as she watched the nanobots began moving over her empty shell of a body. They covered it, connecting with the ones forming the somewhat larger body on the other berth. "What are they doing to me?" She asked in unease.

"They are mixing human biology with Cybertronian technology. Taking you apart and rebuilding your new body, Sunriser." Alpha Trion said gently.

"That...that is kind of disturbing to think about." Dawn said frowning shuddering at the thought. And then her eyes snapped wide open a she looked sharply up at Alpha Trion. "Wait! What?! My new what?!" She yelped.

Chuckling, Alpha Trion shook his head and patted her gently on the head. "You will see, Sunriser." He told her.

Outside the All Spark, Elita One was running down as she fought Blackarchnia. She was fighting with all she had and her enemy was still not even breaking energon. She hissed as a sharp blade cut into her leg, causing her to crash down to one knee and pant from exhaustion.

"Oh, poor little Ariel. I think you are getting old." Blackarchnia hissed in delight as she circled her former sister of arms.

Elita One growled as she lift a head to glare at Blackarchnia. She was not impressed with her insults at all. "You are older than I am, Blackarchnia. So I would not be talking. In fact, are those creases in your brow?"

Yelping, Blackarchnia slapped a servo to her forehead to feel for the creases before growling. "You, glitch. Trying to ruffle my legs, are you? Well, it will not work. I know more insults than you can dish out. Remember what you found on Axtell One? What was left of your precious femmes after what I was done with them?" She pried.

Elita One froze as the memory hit her. She could never forget what had happened to her femmes. To Nightshade, to Firewar, to Solus. She remembered what she had found.

All of those body parts, lying around, drained of energon. They had been ripped apart when the mission they had been sent on was suppose to be a simple extraction mission of energon. They were only sent to retrieve energon cubes that had been accidentally shipped out to the wrong area.

But they had never returned or reported anything when they were supposed to.

Elita One remembered how she, Chromia, Arcee, Moonracer and a femme named Echo had gone to coordinates that Solus had last sent and found what horrors waited for them. She remembered how Echo, the youngest of their group had broke down and cried. How Chromia and Moonracer both broke down and purged the energon from their tanks from the massacre.

The memory struck through Elita One with a rage building. She had never been one to express such anger and hatred but she felt it rising out of her.

Growling in anger, Elita One leapt to her feet and lunged at Blackarchnia. She could not stop herself as she swung her blade at the suddenly startled evil femme. She ducked under swinging bladed legs, lunged and plunged her blade deep into Blackarchnia's thorax.

Blackarchnia screamed in pain as she leapt backwards, cupping a servos around the blade still stuck in her. She stilled for a moment as she felt something on the hilt. She looked down and swore when she saw an energon grenerade.

Jerking her head up, the femme froze to see Elita One raise her hand revealing the controller. "No! Don't, Elita One! Please don't kill me!" She pleaded.

Narrowing her optics, Elita One shook her head as she cupped her hand around the controller. "Isn't that what my sweet Nightshade said when you stood over her, after draining the others? Did she not beg for her life like you are doing?"

"I am so sorry! I didn't...I mean...! I am sorry for killing her! And the others!" Blackarchnia cried, trying to rip the blade out of her thorax but hissing in pain.

Elita One shook her head as she held it up high. "Lucky for you, I am not like you." She said easing her grip on the controller. And shook her head again when Blackarchnia relaxed. "Unlucky for you, Barricade is." She added before looking towards Barricade, who was swinging at Sweeps nearby. "Barricade!" She called getting his attention. "Catch!"

Barricade frowned but caught whatever she was tossing to him he looked right at it and slowly grinned as he looked cruelly up at Blackarchnia. "Ooh, lookie what I have." He sneered.

"No! You glitch!" Blackarchnia shouted before lunging towards Elita One with thrusting blades. A crazed fury in her burning optics as she went.

"This is for my sister, bitch." Barricade growled before jamming his servo down on the red button.

And Blackarchnia exploded, sending body parts and energon flying out in flames and smoke.

For a moment, both Elita One and Barricade watched as Blackarchnia fell down in pieces, completely off line. They watched with no mercy or sympathy for her. They were only too glad it was over for her.

Then the shock trooper looked at the pink and black femme. "Ya think Nightshade would be mad at me for that?" He asked.

Elita One shook her head as she looked softly at him. "No. She died a horrible, terrifying death that was too cruel for words, Barricade. Your sister, Nightshade would have been proud of you for extracting justice for what Blackarchnia did to her femmes. I am only sorry that I sent her to that place without mechs to protect her. Please forgive me." She told him.

Barricade shook his head as he looked grateful for her words. "Nightshade would kick me in the aft if I hated you, One. She always did look up to you when you were little. Thank you for letting me do that." He stated.

Smiling, Elita One placed a hand on his shoulder. "You are welcome, Barricade." She said softly.

"No!"

Both jerked around when they heard Sideswipe shout suddenly and they looked to see him on his hands and knees, chasing after Sideways, who had the All Spark in his filthy servos.

It looked as if the battle between Sideways and the twins had gone sour. He must have distracted Sideswipe by slashing open Sunstreaker across the chassis, and quite deep too. And during the moment of pain between their link, Sideways had ripped open Sideswipe's chassis to retrieve the All Spark.

Now he was running for it, towards The Fallen.

"No! We must stop him!" Elita One cried as she and Barricade raced forward to help Sideswipe.

Suddenly, Sideways stopped, looking confused and alarmed as the All Spark began to shake in his servos. It was vibrating viciously before starting to shift and transform.

It was unfolding itself, growing larger!

Sideways had no choice but to drop it and leap backwards to avoid getting smashed. He back peddled until he collided into one of his fellow Decepticons, earning a snarl of protest. But even that died to see what was happening.

The All Spark grew large until it was its normal size, towering over many. It caught much attention, even The Fallen's, who hissed and started forward to take it. His path was quickly cut by Optimus but even so more to when the symbols in it began to glow brightly. Everyone watched in surprise as it opened up, emitting brilliant white light again.

Then Alpha Trion and Groundhog stepped out, looking mighty pleased about something. "Ah, you are still fighting out here. I suppose time did pass pretty quickly in there, though in truth we have been inside for orns, if not many cycles." The old mech stated before shrugging innocently. "Then again, time was always funny when it comes to the All Spark."

Sideswipe pushed himself up, his spark spiking rapidly. He could feel it stretching out, searching for its other half. It couldn't find it, however and it made him stiffen with fear and dread. "Al-Alpha Trion...Dawn...is she...?" He was dreading to even ask.

Smiling over at him, Alpha Trion slowly stepped to the side, looking down.

Eyes and optics followed and breaths caught to see quite a bashful looking Dawn standing there. She did look different, however. Almost...taller than she used to be. But it was her. Her deep brown hair falling in waves and curls to below her shoulder, her scars on her arms, though they looked rather strange. Like...glyphs and markings. She wore different clothing, which was strange as it was. She had entered the All Spark in a hospital gown. But now she wore blue jeans and a sunrise colored top of yellow, orange, and pink.

But nonetheless, it was her.

"Sunrise..." Sideswipe spoke ventlessly as he stretched his spark for her.

Smiling faintly, Dawn waved at him before she stretched out hers, barely touching his. She felt his spark enclose hers and it felt so warm. She smiled even more as she watched him sigh in relief as he felt her link to him touch his. "Hi, Sides. Miss me?" She asked as she looked at him with deep morning blue eyes.

Sideswipe smiled back at her, nodding as he caressed her through their link...and then did a double take, his optics widening in realization. "Since when were your eyes blue?" He suddenly asked, making everyone blink in surprise.

Dawn just smiled sheepishly, folding her arms behind her back as she walked towards him. "Oh, that. Well...it is really hard to explain but...eeeep!" She yelped when she was suddenly seized from behind.

"Got you!" Sideways snarled in triumph.


	45. Payback's A Glitch

"DAWN!" Several shouts bellowed as everyone watched in horror as Dawn was caught in Sideways' filthy claws. They would have rushed forward but knowing if they did, Sideways would harm her.

Sideswipe snarled, lashing out his arms and his blades snapped out again. "Get your filthy servos off of my mate, bastard!" He snarled but did not move in fear of Dawn being crushed by his enemy.

Sideways sneered as he tightened his grip on Dawn's waist, earning a squeak of protest. "What are you going to do, Sidesnot? I got your mate so you can't...!" He was saying.

But then something hit him in the side of the head after a shout was given out.

Blinking in surprise, sideways looked over to see Dawn glaring at him, her arm pitched forward as if she had thrown something. He used his other servo and touched his head only to feel something lodged into his face. He picked it out and found a long blade of metal. A dagger. But where had it come from? The femme? That was impossible! She couldn't have...

But surprising, Dawn pulled back her hand again and shockingly, another blade pushed right out of her palm, stunning everyone. "Excuse me! I was talking to my husband, aftpipe! Interrupting a femme is rude!" And she threw the next blade striking him right in the optic.

Screaming in pain, Sideways dropped Dawn while slapping his servos over his damaged optic. "SON OF GLITCH! I WILL KILL YOU!" He roared stumbling backwards.

"Dawn!" Sideswipe yelped lunging forward to catch his falling mate but he stopped short when she landed heavily on her feet, yet in a graceful crouch. "Dawn? Are you...all right?"

Dawn huffed in annoyance, glaring up at the screaming Sideways. "I am fine, sweetspark. Just annoyed. Now as I was saying..." she then huffed again in irritation when Sideways snarled loudly starting to leap forward, swearing he was going to kill her.

"Sunriser, why don't you just give everyone a demonstration on what has been done about you?" Alpha Trion asked in amusement, folding his arms and leaning casually against the All Spark.

"Okay." Dawn said with amusement before snappeing her attention back to Sideways, her eyes beginning to glow brightly. "Sunriser, transforming." She added with a smirk.

"Wh-what?" Sideswipe asked stunned.

Dawn merely smiled over at him, her eyes glowing bright before her skin to melt away as she sprouted upward about two feet. She was no longer Dawn Jade Adams but a femme. A robotic femme. Her coloring was the same as her shirt from before, yellow, orange and pink inking together from her helm to her chassis and down her arms. She was about seven feet tall now with brilliant morning blue sky optics. Her form was rather thin ad curvy, with her hips curved outward much like how a femme's would. She had slits in her wrists, which immediately produced blades, landing in her hands.

Everyone gawked in alarm at what had happened to their friend and loved one. They could not believe their eyes or optics.

Though a second after transforming, the newest femme looked over at Alpha Trion with a grimace. "It still feels weird, Alpha." She remarked, her voice sounding much like Dawn's only with a distinctive metallic sound to it.

Alpha Trion and Groundhog both chuckled and shook their heads as if they found what she said amusing. "You are still getting used to it, Sunriser. It will take a little time for you to adjust. You have only been in it for a few cycles, All Spark time. Remember what I told you. Trust your instincts and let your body move. The nanobots will help you." The older mech stated.

Dawn, or rather Sunriser nodded before turning to face a stunned looking Sideways. She sent a coy smile towards him before raising both blades in her hands. "So, Sideways aftpipe, you wanted to tear me a part? Bring it on." She said slyly.

Sideways growled at her, shaking his head. "A fleshie becoming a Cybertronian? Now that is just weird. An abomination, really?" He growled before smirking as he looked her over. "Though, quite the looking one. I will enjoy ripping you to pieces." He then lunged forward.

"Dawn!" Sideswipe yelped starting forward to save her but stopped when Alpha Trion was there, holding him back. "Alpha Trion! I have to...!"

"Let her adjust, Sideswipe. It will be all right. You really think I would send her right in a battle without knowing what she is doing?" Alpha Trion asked before shaking his head. "During our time inside the All Spark, I did help her adjust into her new body. She did have a hard time moving around but after hours of work inside, she has gotten used to it. As for some of her fighting skills, she told me she learned martial arts from Chromia, the Weapons Specialist's mate. All she has to do is apply them as a femme." He explained.

"Plus she worked with me for a little bit." Groundhog said with a lazy shrug. "She isn't bad at fighting. For a beginner."

Sideways charged at Sunriser, bringing his servos down to slash at her. He was looking forward to slicing her to bits and right in front of her Autobot mechfriend too.

Sunriser waited till the last second before sweeping out to the side, letting the Minicon's servos miss her by a hair line. She then thrust one blade up and slammed into his side, earning a roar of pain before she was leaping backwards to avoid getting back handed. She moved as quickly as she could, dancing to the side with blades in hand before leaping forward again and sending a sweeping kick right a Sideways' head. Her kick saw true as it mashed into the side of his jaw. She watched with a smug smile as he went spinning away from her.

Not letting a good opportunity go to waste, Sunriser charged forward, blades tightly gripped and leapt into the air. It was not an easy task to do because Sideways was a good deal taller than her. He was about Jazz's size after all and had a good solid 14 feet on her seven foot height.

Butt nonetheless, Sunriser's small frame was good for speed and flexibility. And it showed as she grabbed a hold of Sideway's arm with hers and wrapped her legs around it to keep a good hold. She was tossed around a little as Sideways looked down at her in surprise but she used that to her advantage to release with her arms and swing backwards to get access towards his chassis. She swiped his side with her blades, earning another roar in pain.

Finally dropping down into a crouch, Sunriser kicked out with her feet and hard, propping herself up with only her hands. Her wide feet slammed into Sideways' knee joints, earning a loud crack as metal slammed into metal. Nonetheless, Sideways yelped as he fell backwards, quite in pain. He hit the ground hard, front side up. His optics went dark for a good few moments.

Frowning, Sunriser climbed to her feet and shuffled backwards. She sent a glance towards Groundhog, however. "Groundhog?" She asked simply.

Groundhog shook his head as he raised his arm and scanned Sideways. He snorted and shook his head, dropping his arm again. "He's faking it. He wants you to get close so he could attack you." He stated.

Growling, Sideways lift his head to send a scathing glare at the Decepticon. "Traitor!" He snarled, climbing to his feet.

Groundhog huffed and shrugged innocently. "I am not on your side, Sideways. In fact, I am looking forward to watching her kick your aft." He stated smugly.

Sideways just growled at him before he quickly moved as Sunriser leapt at him, meaning to slam her knee down on top of him. He swung around and swung his servos, hitting her hard from behind. He had the satisfaction of hearing her cry out in surprise and some pain as she hit the ground. He smirked cruelly as he moved over, bringing his foot up to slam down on top of her.

Suddenly there were a pair of snarls before both pairs of owners lunged forward, slamming into him, sending him flying through the air and crashing down hard across the jungle floor.

Sunriser lift herself up to her knees and looked up just to see Sideswipe and Sunstreaker now standing over her protectively. She smiled faintly to see that once again, they were protecting her. "Sides, Sunny." She said fondly.

Without looking at her, Sideswipe reached down for her hand which she gladly gave. And as their hands met, the familiar tingle ran from each into the other. Their sparks reached out to one another in a loving caress, making both smile. She stood next to him, hand on his arm which was crossed in front of her chassis.

"Well, that was an interesting show you gave us, Sunrise. But let us handle it now." Sideswipe said before he held up his ten foot blades.

"How about no?" Sunriser said, surprising him and Sunstreaker. She smiled as they looked at her in puzzlement but she shook her head. "How about we take him together? All three of us? We would make a better team that way." She held up a hand and gently touched his mouth when he tried to protest. "I am not weak any more, Sides. I am like you now. An Autobot. Let me learn. You cannot always protect me. Sometimes I have to stand up for myself." She told him gently.

Sighing heavily, Sideswipe relented as he reached up and stroked her new face plates gently with his hand before smiling and nodding. "Okay. But be careful. If it gets too much, stand back and we take care of it." He told her.

Sunriser nodded before she dropped her hand, yet held up her blades, smiling coyly. "All right, boys. Let's dance." She said.

Grinning, both twins nodded and snapped their attention back to Sideways, who raised his cannons and started firing at them.

As one, all three dashed to the side before charging forward, weapons raised. They dodged the cannon blasts coming at them before they reached Sideways. Sunstreaker was the first to move, his flame rods raised and he was moving like a fire dancer. He blasted Sideways in the side with flames, earning a snarl of pain and rage.

Sunriser moved in as the Minicon's attention was on the yellow twin, running and sliding across the ground until she slid right beside her enemy. Therefore, she swiped his side with both blades before quickly scuttling away when Sideways slashed down at her, slamming his servos into the ground where she had been.

Then Sideswipe moved, leaping over Sideways and slashing down into his shoulder plate with one blade. He swung around in the air and drop kicked him in the head to send him staggering dangerously closer towards Sunstreaker, who rammed his fire rod into a weak part of Sideways' shoulder armor.

"This is for hurting my sister, Flare-Up, glitch!" Sunstreaker snarled and full blasted Sideways' shoulder with his flames.

Behind the snarling Minicon, Sideswipe touched down with a loud thud before standing swiftly and swinging his blades until he stopped short from slicing his head off, blades crossed from behind. "This is for hurting my Sunrise." He growled.

"And this is for threatening Starscream when he was protecting me a year and a half ago." Sunriser said as she stood directly in front of her enemy, blade in right hand raised. She lunged forward and slammed her blade deep in Sideways' chassis just as Sideswipe yanked his blades to the sides and cut deep into his neck, allowing energon to spill.

Sideways was growling, yet keening in pain as his precious energon was spilling down his chassis and onto the ripped up grass. He staggered back but surprisingly the femme in front of him followed. His optics were flickering to off line and back on. He knew there was no doubt he was dead. He just didn't know it yet.

"Oh, you want to see another trick I learned?" Sunriser asked innocently before her optics flashed brightly. She smiled faintly as the strange markings in her arms began to glow before shooting up into her hands and into her blade. The blade ignited with fire and exploded out through Sideways' back. The flames seemed to be so hot that it melted metal like fresh hot lava "Solar power capabilities and sun hot flames. It melts metal. Thus the name, Sunriser." She added before deactivating her blade and ripping it out.

Sideways' top half creaked for a second before falling backwards, leaving his bottom half to fall to its knees and then flat on the ground.

Either way, he was dead.

Standing tall between the twins, Sunriser smiled proudly as she stared down at the deactivated Sideways. "And that is how you kick...ahhhhhh!" She suddenly squealed when the pair of mechs sandwiched her and spun each other around. She laughed as she was lifted into Sideswipe's arms, even with Sunstreaker's still around her.

"Sunrise! I can't believe this!" Sideswipe laughed as he held her tightly. He brought her down to look into her glowing optics. "I thought I was going to lose you." He then frowned, looking her over. His scans were picking up mostly cyber kinetics but there seemed to be some organic material to her as well. "How did this happen?"

Sunriser shook her head before looking over at Alpha Trion as he moved closer. "He can explain a lot better than I can." She told him.

The twins looked over at the elder mech, setting Sunriser down in between them. "How..." Sideswipe started to ask.

Alpha Trion shook his head, smiling faintly. "I am sorry to say that Dawn Jade Adams is no more, Sideswipe. She died as soon as we entered the All Spark." He gave Sideswipe a sympathetic smile when the young mech gave a startled yelp. "Her body failed from its injuries but her soul refused to move on. Thus, we have Sunriser. With the All Spark's power and my nanobots, I built her a new body. The organic pieces are mostly calcium from her bones melded into the metal. It will allow her to take her original human form, along with her Technorganic form. Which is what she is. She is half human, half Cybertronian, the first of her kind." He explained.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker gaped at him, completely surprised. This was definitely something new. "The first? You mean there will be others?" The silver asked.

Alpha Trion nodded as he smiled faintly. "A long time ago, I did catch a glimpse of a far distant future of a race Technorganics, mixed among our own kind. Their leader was a chosen of Primus, of sunrise colors. The Dawn of the New Age. Of course, I wasn't exactly expecting a human to become one of us. So I was surprised to learn that it was Dawn. But nonetheless, she does have much to learn about our kind. I will expect it to be you, Sideswipe, to teach her." He said smiling.

Smiling as he wrapped an arm around Sunriser's shoulders, looking lovingly at her. "Of course. It would be my pleasure." He said fondly.

Sunriser smiled right back at him before her optics brightened. "Oh!" She then grabbed his arm and pulled him down a little. "I just remembered! There was always something I wanted to try if I ever became Cybertronian like that story that Flare-Up told me!" She said excitedly.

And with that said, she placed her forehead against Sideswipe's.

Very much like their very first kiss, it felt like Sunriser's solar system was rocked like a supernova going off. She could have sworn stars raced past her as she felt the pleasant tingles of electric pulses running into her, causing her daze a little. Sideswipe felt the same, his spark racing at the same speed as hers. He smiled brightly as he wrapped his arms around her small waist and lift her up as they shared their first Cybertronian kiss.

"Okay! I do hate to break this mushy gushy slag up, but we are in the middle of a battle here! You can pick this back up when we are done here!" Barricade roared from where he was slashing Sweeps to pieces.

Sideswipe shot him a look after tearing away from Sunriser but she was nodding as she concentrated hard to shifting and transforming her arm into a cannon blaster. She grimaced at it, as if she wasn't pleased to see it but got over it quickly. "He's right. Let's take care of this first." She stated. And then three jumped back into the battle.

It was too quiet. Too still. There hadn't been any guards when she re-entered the facility to search it. She knew what she had seen when she had went back to search the facility for information. She knew she had seen him.

Cole knew she had seen Hollander. That was the only reason why she came into these deep labs, the same lab they had found all of the human test subjects, who, obviously hadn't moved yet. She wasn't expecting them to either. She only drew out her gun and began looking around for the monster who started this all. It didn't help that the lights started flickering either.

Trying to keep her breath steady, Cole let her eyes search the entire lab, looking for that son of a bitch, Hollander. "I know you're here somewhere, bastard. And I am going to find you." She growled mostly to herself.

And she wasn't expecting someone to actually answer.

"I will make it easier for you then." A voice spoke out from behind her.

Cole stiffened, her eyes snapping wide open before she whirled around to shove her gun in the man's face, only to have a strong hand wrap around her wrist. She hissed angrily as the man standing over her wrenched the gun from her before kicking her hard in the leg, causing her to cry out in pain. She went down just as hard, hand clapped over her injury and glaring up at the old man who had assaulted her.

Hollander.

The old man merely stepped back with the gun in hand before he began to dissemble it. He let pieces fall to the ground before tossing the handle of the gun to the side. "Well, well. Cole Keller. I should have been expecting you here. Always looking for revenge." He said before stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Cole glared hard up at him, still clutching her throbbing leg. "I will kill you for what you did to Sean, Hollander. Make a note of that." She growled at him.

Shaking his head, Hollander began to walk around her, keeping a good distance from her. He knew even if he had pinched a nerve in her leg, she was still dangerous. "You were always such a nuisance with your temper, Cole. It always annoyed me when you were around. I never did want to bring you into the Department. But it was the Director's decision that finalized it. If I had my choice, I would have had you as an extra science experiment, just like all of them." He said motioning to all of the cylinders around them.

Cole frowned, looking around at the humans trapped inside glass and strange liquid, her eyes pausing on the one Epps had called Fig. "What did you do them anyway? What is Project Machination?" She asked seriously.

"Oh, so you did go snooping through those stolen files you took from Kansas." Hollander spoke though sounding amused. He shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Well, in truth, I probably shouldn't tell you. But if I am going to do to you like I did them, I suppose I can forewarn you of your fate." He walked over to the cylinder that Cole had been eyeing and began pushing buttons on the control panel.

Surprisingly, the man inside stirred before his eyes flashed on and stunned the ex-agent. His eyes were a glowing red, just like the Decepticons'.

The liquid inside the cylinder began to drain, allowing Fig to merely stand up on his own. Once the cylinder was drained, the glass slid downward, allowing him to pull the mask off his face and stepped out with dripping fluids running off his body.

"Formerly known as Fig, we now call him Fighter Intelligence Generation 1." Hollander spoke fondly as he stepped closer to the man. "He is one of our perfect soldiers, reprogrammed to follow orders. It was not easy repairing his leg, however. When we received him, he was in such a mess. It took me 72 hours of working relentlessly on him to making sure he was stable enough for the operation." He explained.

Cole frowned but listened. She knew this was her only chance to learn what was going on. "And? Did you kidnap him or did he come willingly?" She asked seriously.

Hollander gave her an annoyed look but smiled dryly nonetheless. "Willingly, of course. But, however, he wasn't exactly aware of what we were going to do to him. He only thought we were fitting him with a prosthetic. He never even realized he was being prepped for something more." He said before smiling as he reached up behind Fig's head and touched something.

Fig gave light jerk before standing up straighter and walking forward. He walked straight up to Cole, who tried to move back but she didn't get too far as he reached down, grabbing her arm and yanking her to her feet. His grip was vice and painful and when she tried to jerk away, she found it hard to do. She even tried kicking at him or yanking away but all it did was nothing. He didn't seem to feel it at all. He only pulled her arms behind her back, trapping her.

"Let go of me!" Cole snapped but received no answer.

Hollander chuckled darkly as he walked over to face her. "He will not answer to your demands because he is nothing but a perfect soldier. With no real conscience of his own, he follows only my orders. You see, Cole. That is Project Machination. A perfect way of solving all of humanity's problems. A mind of one thing only. Obedience to a peaceful cause. Think of it this way. The one problem mankind has is there are just too many objections to what needs to be done. Too many opinions that causes only debates and arguments. Mankind has abused the very meaning of freewill. They have caused wars, hatred, and sorrow for others. Take that freewill and you have..."

"Mindless drones." Cole said coldly finally getting the point. "You are trying to create a new society of mindless zombies who will do what you say or do what you program them to do. Like The Stepford Wives initiative."

Hollander smiled faintly but slowly nodded. "I suppose you can say it like that. Everyone in the world will with go the same operation that all of these people has. We will create a better world, Cole. A world without wars, or murder. Sexual affairs between husband or wives. There will be no problems between families. Only the perfect lives. We are only trying to save the world from their selves. Even if it means just keeping them programmed like a computer program. A machine nation. Machination."

Cole bared her teeth, looking highly disgusted. She couldn't believe this. She knew there had to be more than this that he was saying. "You have to be kidding, Hollander. You are trying to create people who are slaves to their own minds! This is a sick idea! People have the right to choose for their selves! Not let someone choose for them!"

"Yes, and see how well that turned out?" Hollander asked darkly. "World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, the war on the Taliban? Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers? Gangs shooting up neighborhoods and a husband murdering his wife for sleeping with another man? Child abuse? People abuse their freewill, Cole! They choose wrong and people get hurt! I am only preventing that by reprogramming the human minds!" He walked right up to Fig and lightly tapped his temple. "Within each human being, there will be a microchip installed, mingling into the nerves and controlling the mind."

Shaking her head, Cole glared harder at Hollander. "This is so sick and twisted, Hollander! You are talking about mind control! Making people out to be something they're not! How the hell are you going to get away with this?! The Governments will..." she was saying.

"The Governments will fall, Cole. That is where we will be starting once the time is right." Hollander said coldly. "All of these people here," he motioned to the entire room. "All of them are our first strike teams. I am afraid that more than half of the world will not be able to survive the implants or will try to fight the inevitable. So we will be downsizing the population."

Stalk still with shock, Cole stared at him. She could only imagine what he was talking about. "You mean you will be killing half of the world just for your vision?" She asked stunned.

"I am afraid so." Hollander said with a fake air of sympathy.

"Bu-but that is murder! You will be killing hundreds of innocents!" Cole stammered over her words.

Hollander snorted as if annoyed and amused. "Humanity of this generation does not have such innocence, Cole. At this time, no one is innocent. Everyone has lied, stolen, killed several times in their lives. But once I and the Department are done with this world, there will be pure innocence. No crimes committed, no affairs taking place. A perfect society." He stated.

Cole shook her head in disgust. She was hating this man more and more. "Who are you to do this, Hollander?! People have the right to choose for their selves! And even then! What about the Cybertronians?! The Autobots and the Decepticons will not stand for this! They will stop you!"

"Please, who do you think gave us the idea anyway? Not the Autobots, of course. They think they are saving lives when all they are doing is making a mess out of things by spreading their values." Hollander said coolly. "The Decepticons want to destroy human kind. We will fight back, of course. But it is the fraction called the Minicons who will ensure our future. It was The Fallen who came to us, Cole. The Fallen is who created the Department in the first place."

Cole froze with shock. "What?" She breathed.

Hollander nodded with a smile. "The Fallen is our benefactor, Cole Keller. He is who gave us the idea. He is who gave us the technology and intelligence for such a feat. He is who shared the precious alien metals for the operations I have done. In each of the people, my perfect soldiers, he gave a piece of their God, the Unmaker as he is called." He explained.

"Unicron. You put a piece of Unicron in all of these people." Cole said in horror.

Hollander nodded. "Yes, I did. And when Unicron arrives to Earth, he will be the controller. He will be the one who keeps the peace among humans. You see, The Fallen shared with me a secret. Unicron has a powerful mind, Cole. He is already here, on Earth. Through his subunits, the Minicons. He sees what they do, upholds their reactions. That was what the one called Cataclysm was. He was Unicron in a much smaller form. He used his extension to wage a fight with your so called friends. He can take the forms of his own and wander this world as he pleases. And he does not even need to be on the planet. Yes, he is too big to be on Earth, himself. But it still does not stop him. He is here, on Earth, through his Minicons. Their actions are done by him. Because he is controlling what is his." He explained to her.

Cole shook her head, narrowing her eyes at him even as she tried tugging out of Fig's grip but was unsuccessful. "And how is this suppose to help humanity, Hollander?! Unicron wants to destroy mankind! Not….." She was saying.

Shaking his head, Hollander smiled bitterly. "You see, that is where you and your robot friends are wrong, Cole. He wants slaves. He needs slaves to run the machine perfectly. By my vision, he will have his human workers and we will have our perfect society. That is all there is to say about the matter. We have already come to the agreement through The Fallen." He told her.

"That is the biggest load of BS I've ever heard, isn't it, Reno?"

Both Cole and Hollander stiffened at the sound of that voice before they whipped their heads around only to find guns pointed directly on the old man. The holders of the guns were Epps, Reno, Lennox and Vladimir, while Sam, Trent and Nik stood behind machines as protection.

"I have to agree with you, Epps." Lennox said, rather coldly as he kept his gun trained on Hollander. "You really think that is Unicron's plan, sir? Well, it's not. If anyone knows the old rust bucket in space more, it will probably be Alpha Trion. And he's already said that isn't Unicron's plan. Hollander, wasn't it? You're under arrest. Come quietly and we won't have to hurt you. And if you can, release Fig from your crazy ass plot. He would be so pissed at you for this whole mind control shit." He growled.

Hollander narrowed his eyes dangerously before he pulled his hands out of his pocket and it was clear he was holding something in his palm. "Well, I wasn't expecting this one. Unfortunately, I cannot do that, Major Lennox. I have a contract to follow after all. And a vision to see through. So instead, I think I will just let you play with some of my soldiers." He said before holding up what looked like a controller and pushed a button.

There was a loud beeping sound echoing throughout the entire lab before what happened with Fig happened with the rest of the cylinders. The liquid in several began to drain and open up, allowing all of their occupants to step out with glowing red eyes.

"My soldiers, kill them all. Spare no one." Hollander said coldly before he ducked quickly and began running.

"SHIT!" Epps said trying to follow the old man with his gun but instead had to pull back as several of the so called soldiers lunged forward to attack.

Cole immediately lashed her head backwards, slamming it against Fig's face. The only thing she got out of it was a major headache and a hiss of pain. She began struggling as the mindless soldier began pulling hard on her arms, as if trying to tear her arms out of their sockets. "Ow, ow, ow!" She couldn't help but cry out in pain.

"Cole! Hold on!" Reno yelled rushing forward before swinging his gun and bashing the butt into Fig's head.

That seemed to do the trick, however.

Fig lurched forward, stumbling with Cole, but releasing her. He dropped to the floor, even while his eyes starting to flicker. But nonetheless, he seemed to be knocked out cold after taking a hit right to the head.

Still, all of the human allies found their selves surrounded by attacking soldiers. They were completely surrounded.

"Okay! Any ideas of what to do?!" Reno asked as he placed his back against Cole's, looking around with a nervous air.

"Don't die." Trent answered almost weakly.

"Well, that's a start." Lennox said, before pointing his gun at an approaching soldier. "We can't kill these people! But we can't let them kill us either! So do what Reno did! Hit them hard in the heads and hope it just knocks them out!"

"Yeah, that sounds so easy!" Epps said a little dryly but he lurched forward with everyone, attacking right back.


	46. The Fall

The battles were becoming too long and too brutal. Sweeps littered the jungle floor, along with some of the Decepticons who refused to yeild and join Starscream and his Decepticons. It wasn't like the Autobots or the allied Decepticons were doing any of the falling. They were doing pretty well for their selves, if not getting severely beaten to scrap. It helped a great deal that the Seekers and the Constructiconshad joined them to beating back the Minicons. The giant Devastator had ripped the Driller to pieces and currently was doing the same to many of the Sweeps.

There was no sign of Scourge, however. He had pulled himself away from the battles and was hiding like the coward he was.

The fight between Jetfire and Jetstorm, unfortunately, was not going so well in Jetfire's favor. It was almost evenly matched if not in Jetstorm's way. He wasfaster than the old Decepticon remembered, and definitely more brutal.

Jetfire was finding himself wearing down as he recieved blow after blow. He had energon spilling from many wounds, coating his frame but he did what he could to stay online. He slashed and tore at Jetstorm, taking blows and giving them. But still, it seemed that his twin brother wasn't taking very much injuries like he was.

"How could it have come to this, Storm?! Were you not an Autobot before I deactivated you?!" Jetfire roared as he barely ducked under a swing from his brother's blade.

Jetstorm did not answer but continued to swing at him. He sent a crushing blow right into his twin's chassis, creating a nasty crack that nearly split his spark chamber. He ignored the roar of pain from Jetfire as he swung in a full circle and slammed his cannon into the cracked chassis. "This is your doing, Jetfire." He growled before firing.

At point blank, Jetfire's chassis exploded and sent him flying back into the trees. Energon and fire spilling in a trail as he flew the air and crashed down into the ground in a sparking heap.

Waiting for a moment, watching to see if he would get back up, Jetstream narrowed his burning gaze at his twin before swining away. Hr knew that there was no way for Jetfire to survive that fatal blow.

Ducking under a blow sent towards his head by that serrated blade, Starscream spun away from Galvatron before throwing up his cannon blaster and sent a shot right back at him. He knew this was a dangerous game he was playing with his former leader. But he was going whatsoever.

"Starscream! You are weak! Pathetic! You think you can beat me?! Foolish! You never could!" Galvatron roared barely missed being shot.

"Peh. That's always your excuse to try and break me, Galvatron! But I won't break this time! I will finish you! I will see you broken down into scrap!" Starscream snarled right back as he blasted forward slashing down with his servos.

His strike met true, slicing through Galvatron's face and leaving long scratches down the side.

Galvatron roared in pain and rage as he leapt backwards to avoid being struck again. He would never admit it but his former second in command was getting better. His resolve to destroying the Decepticon Leader seemed to be much stronger than ever. There had to be a reason for it. What was it? What was it that Starscream was trying to protect now?

"You will never protect it, Starscream! I will find whatever it is you are trying to keep from me and I will rip it to pieces before your very optics!" Galvatron growled.

Starscream narrowed his glare as he ducked under Galvatron's blade and slashed his side, spilling energon from there. He knew that the tyrant had no clue what he was protecting. He knew nothing about his new human interest. "You see, Galvatron! That is where you are wrong! I do have something! And you will never touch her! As long as I live!" He snarled, knowing that might goad his former leader more.

Galvatron's optics lit up in surprise but he sneered. "A femme?! You protect a femme?! Give me her name so I can sought her out! And when I find her, she will die! Painfully slow!" He sneered at the Seeker as he slashed down at him.

Starscream sneered right back as he ducked under Galvatron's blade moving ever so closer to him that their faces nearly collided. "Again," he growled before slamming his cannon against the tyrant's side. "You. Are. Wrong. She may be human, but she could take even you." And he fired.

At close range, Galvatron's side exploded outward, sending him reeling back and energon flying with fire. He had been taken by surprise by Starscream's bold confession.

And the only thing that echoed in his processor as he crashed against the ground was, 'A human?!' He roared into his thoughts. 'Starscream fell for a human?!'

The fight was getting too painfully long and seeing his greatest asset nearly blown to pieces by a Seeker nonetheless, The Fallen knew it needed to end! Now! He knew it was time to step up the game. It was time to do something very drastic and damgerous. But as long as it worked, he didn't care what would happen.

Snarling at Optimus Prime, he swung his staff, sending a powerful wave of energy at him. It dissatisfied him to see that all it did was rock the massive Prime.

Optimus knew that The Fallen was getting anxious in their battle. He could sense it. He could see how anxious he was getting by his swiping blows coming at him. He felt desperation between the energy blows coming at him. He knew that The Fallen was getting too anxious to fight. He knew it was time to end this.

Steeling himself, the Prime charged forward at the The Fallen with his blade raised. "It is time for you to live up to your name, Fallen!' He bellowed as he slashed down at his nemesis.

But as the blade came down, The Fallen's eyes flashed and he sudden disappeared from view, allowing Optimus' blade to slam down into the earth that he had been standing onoptimus turned with a jerk to The Fallen went and found him standing on the All Spark.

Everyone had stopped what they were doing just to look on with inease.

"No! He is going to destroy the All Spark!" Alpha Trion yelled as he activated his own weapon.

The Fallen narrowed his burning optics at him as he raised his staff high above his head. "Foolish brother, Alpha Trion! I do no plan to destroy it just yet! But it is time for this world to end!" He roared before bring the end down hard upon the All Spark.

The end of the staff exploded with a hellish red light and violent purple sparks began running down the shaft and traveled down the All Spark. There was a loud crackling sound as the huge cube was suddenly engulfed with the strange energy. A eerie feeling began to strike through the air all around all Autobots ad Decepticons. It not a pleasant feeling at all. They could only watch as the violent energy exploded again from the end of the staff and shot up straight into the dawning sky.

Clouds that had been in its path tore away, revealing the still star lit sky while the energy rose higher and higher until itt penetrated the atmosphere, revealing dark space. It looked like a gate way was opened.

"What is he doing?!" Hot Rod exclaimed in alarm.

But every bot knew what The Fallen was doing. They all recognized a space time bridge when they saw one. But for what reason was...?

And then they saw it.

A giant nightmarish planet made out of metal was creeping into view. It was a rusted gold color with thick pipes curled all around it like rings. Two manible like spines of metal curled above a large opening with sharp metal points in layers circling the opening almost like the mouth of a shark.

Every bot stiffened in horror, knowing exactly what that was.

"What the hell is that?!"

A few Autobots and Decepticons glanced over to see their human allies approaching and looking up into the sky with alarm. They had just arrived, though it was odd to see Epps carrying a man on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. And it had been him who said it.

"It's Unicron." Hot Rod said with great fear as he stepped back. Memories of facing him was definitely coming back to him. He, nor the others, had wanted to ever see him again.

Ratchet nodded as he stared up at the darkening space that was starting to form. "The Fallen has opened a Space bridge. It would seem that he is trying to get Unicron here faster." He stated gravely.

Alpha Trion frowned as he shared a glance with Optimus. "It's not that, Ratchet. The Fallen is tapping into the All Spark's energy, feeding Unicron. If he gathers enough energy, Unicron will be completely activaated and this world will face a doom worse than the humans can even imagine. We must stop The Fallen now before it is too late!" He said firmly.

"But how are we suppose to do that? Unicron is right there!" Hot Rod said motioning to the large planet disguised mech.

Alpha Trion shook his head as he looked at Optimus. "I think the best way to stopping The Fallen from reawakening Unicron is to use a full on attack. All of us attacking him. We must remove his source of power from the All Spark." He stated.

Optimus nodded in agreement as he looked at the staff. It had to be that. The staff seemed to be what The Fallen was using. "Very well." He then turned his optics onto many Sweeps still in the area. "Unfortunately, we still have the Sweeps to deal with." He reminded everyone.

"And Galvatron." Starscream said glancing towards the tyrant Minicon Commander as he was climbing to his peds, holding his severely injured arm.

"We also seem to have some Decepticons who still fight for Galvatron and Unicron." Barricade pointed out as he looked to where Soundwave was still locked in battle with Shockwave.

Starscream growled in irritation but looked right at Optimus. "We, the Decepticons, will take care of the Sweeps and the Minicon wannabes, Prime. You, Autobots, just deal with The Fallen." He said before jabbing a servo towards their former allies. "Decepticons! Attack!" He ordered.

Roars bellowed out from the Decepticons lunged forward and began wrecking havoc on their former comrades.

Optimus nodded before jabbing his energon blade towards The Fallen. "Autobots, we must stop The Fallen! Take position and use full force! If we must, we will destroy the All Spark again! But we must end this now!" He ordered before charging forward.

All of the Autobots, including Alpha Trion bellowed out war cries and lunged forward, cannons whirling to life. They did not need any order to start firing.

The Fallen jerked his headaround to attacking Autobots coming at him now. He growled viciously before removing his servos from the staff and whirling a massive null ray to life. He could not allow them to interfere with the energy transfer. "Fools! All of you! You cannot stop the will of Lord and Master Unicron! This day, you will all die!" He snarled before he began several rounds.

Immediately, the Autobots scattered, trying to avoid being shot. They ducked, barrel rolled, leapt high air to avoid collision. They could feel sinister power behind every blast, knowing if they were hit, it could cause damage.

Optimus and Elita both leapt in different directions to avoid the blast sailing at them before whipping up their cannons and firing several shots, along with the other Autobots.

"Elita, get to the staff! But be careful!" The Prime bellowed over the loud explosions of cannon fire.

Elita nodded before she kicked it into high gear, rushing as fast could. She didn't have to look over her shoulder to see Bumblebee and the new femme, Sunriser running behind her as support. She could feel them as they ran forward.

Optimus and the others kept firing and dodging blasts sent at them. They knew they needed to hurry. They could feel that eerie feeling in the air as the energy from the All Spark was feeding Unicron through the Space bridge. They began moving faster, firing blast after blast.

Starscream lead the air attack towards Galvatron and the Sweeps, who were rushing to meet them in mid clash. He collided with Galvatron in mid air, crashing and slamming to the ground but he did not stop from slashing into the tyrant.

"Starscream! Give me your weak pathetic parasite's that I can crush her before you!" Galvatron snarled as he swung his servos and bashed the Seeker hard across the face. Starscream snarled but refused to relent. He was not going to be goaded. He would protect Cole no matter what the consequenses were.

However, it seemed that the femme in question would not care for the danger she was about to put herself into.

"Hey, fucker!" And Starscream's spark clenched at Cole's yell. "You want me, I am right here!"

Galvatron whirled his head around to look at who insulted him in that disgusting human way and saw the red haired woman standing off to the side, glaring up at him. He sneered at the sight of her before shakingnhis head. "This is your human, Starscream?" He asked almost in disgust. "She doesn't look that exquisite. She is actually quite ugly!" He roared, earning a nasty growl from the Seeker he was addressing.

Cole glared harder at him before raising her gun at him. "Takes one to know one, you ugly son of a bitch."

And she fired.

Her bullet sped through the air and slammed right into his open injuries, hitting a fuel line. Galvatron roared as his pain receptors went wild. He clasped his servos over his wounds, even as energon spilled down his side.

And all Starscream could do was smirk proudly of his human femme. He had always known she was fiesty but to actually hirt his sworn enemy, he couldn't have been more proud of her. If anyone could cause such harm to Galvatron, it was her.

Either way, Galvatron was pissed.

Turning a glare onto Cole, the tyrant growled viciously before charging at her, making her stiffen. "I will crush you, fragging meatsack!" He snarled, raising his servos to swipe at her.

Cole couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her as she quickly ducked under the claws coming at her. She felt the sharp tips catch her hair, ripping a few strands out and making her yelp. She barely had time to roll to the side as Galvatron's fist came down hard to where she had been. She knew she was in a dangerous predictament. She had angered a beast and now he was looking for her pain.

Quickly stumbling to her feet, Cole looked up at him to see him swining again at her. She tried leaping back to avoid it but his sharp tip sliced through her side, drawing a shallow cut and allowing blood to spill. And it sure hurt when the dusty air hit her wound.

Suddenly, something big slammed into Galvatron, sending him flying off his feet and crashing and rolling across the ground.

Cole yelped for a second as she found herself scooped up into a servo. She glanced up to see that it was Starscream and relaxed. He was growling as he held her close to his chasis, raising a cannon at his former leader. "No one will hurt my femme while I live! Not even you, Galvatron!" He snarled before firing and hitting the tyrant hard.

Blades clashed as Optimus took on The Fallen. He knew he was getting closer to finishing it. With all of the blows he was doing, he could see The Fallen wearing down.

"You will never win against the Dark Lord, Prime! You will fall!" The Fallen roared as he blocked a slice from Optimus and sent another, which sent the Prime spinning on to avoid it. "This world will end!"

Optimus didn't bother to shake his head as he charged with a fist pulled back and sent it slamming hard against The Fallen's face. He didn't stop there as he rammed hard into his nemesis' side, sending them both flailing to the ground. "Not on my watch, Fallen! I will see your end before you harm the humans! They do not deserve the tyranny you are trying to bring upon them!" He bellowed before lashing out and grabbing The Fallen by his spikey headress. He yanked hard, forcing him to look up towards the All Spark. "Besides, you failed!"

The Fallen frowned frowned for only a moment before seeing what Optimus was trying to show him. His burning eyes widened at the sight of Elita One as she stood beside his staff, on the All Spark. "No!" He roared in rage.

"Yes." Elita One said coolly as she wrapped her hand around the staff and yanked it right out of the huge cube. The staff crackled violently in her hand, making her flinch a little before the burning red aura darkened to blue. The vicious purple electricity crackled and died.

There was rumble in the sky before the Space Bridge began to close. But not before everyone saw the giant mass beyond it shift and a head lift from the ball as burning hellish red optics looked down at them with hate. It paralyzed all to see those optics online and glaring at them.

"Prime." Came a hiss as the portal slowly closed right in Unicron's face.

Nonetheless, it was over for that part.

Until Optimus took the opportunity to force The Fallen's head higher so he could see Alpha Trion right in front of him. The ancient mech shook his head as he looked stonily at The Fallen. "Weshall rise, you shall fall, old brother." The Old Prime spoke before swinging his own staff just as a sharp blade stuck out and sliced through The Fallen's vocoder.

Finally it was over. The Fallen had truly lived up to his name and was nothing more than scrap metal.

Seeing his master fall, Galvatron raised to his feet, growling. He would not forget this day. But he was too worn out and injured. He knew his limits and Starscream, of all mechs had pushed him there. "Minicons! Decepticons! Retreat!" He roared before raising a servo and activating a space bridge.

The remaining Minicons and allied Decepticons turned tail pipe and ran as fast as they could out of the area with Galvatron behind. He turned to send Optimus and Starscream and their allied mechs a withering glare. "Do assume this is the last time we face in battle, Prime! I will see your destruction! Make note of that!" He snarled before leaping through the gateway and closed it from behind.

Then it was silent.

For a long time, everyone just stood there, staring at where Galvatron had been. No one could speak. All they could do was sit there and stare and let thoughts run through their heads.

"So...is it over?" The very sound of Sam's voice made everyone jump as they looked at him.

Optimus heaved a sigh as he slid his energy sword away and relaxed. He knew that it was. His sensors were not picking up any enemies. "Yes, Sam. It is finally over." He said before looking at Starscream and the Decepticons hovering behind him. He paused to smile curiously to see his older brother's arm around Nemesis Strika. That was different. But he wouldn't question it. "Starscream, now that it is over, what do you plan to do?"

Starscream frowned at him but shook his head. "It isn't the finale, Optimus Prime, and you know it. Galvatron will return and Unicron seems to be reactivated. I will continue to stand with you." He glanced almost fondly at Cole in his servo. "Besides, I have a reason to protect the humans for myself now. But that is my choice." He said looking to the other Decepticons, questioningly.

Skywarp grinned before leaping forward and swinging an arm around Hot Rod, who merely smirked, even if it was a Decepticon. "I wanna stay too! I like the Autobots!" He chirped.

Soundwave and his subordinates nodded as they stepped closer. "Affirmative. We will stay." He said in his monotonous way.

Groundhog merely shrugged. "As long as Barricade stays with you, so will I. Though I think my personal choice would be the same. I am growing rather fond of your humans. Especially to Nik and Eliza and Delia." He announced.

Strika smiled as she leaned against Ultra Magnus, making several eye brows and optic ridges raise in surprise. "Ultra Magnus is my star chosen. I can feel it in my spark. I wish to become an Autobot. That is," she looked right at Optimus then to Starscream. "If it is all right with you, two." She finished.

Optimus and Starscream shared a glance then smiled as if amused.

"Nemesis Strika, you hereby stripped of the Decepticon title for your choice." The Seeker said smugly.

"And you may join the Autobots, if you wish." The Prime added. "Though, I am surprised of the outcome. I would have never guessed that my spark brother would choose a former Decepticon as a star chosen."

Ultra Magnus smirked shaking his head as he glanced at the femme next to him. "Believe me, I am just as surprised, Optimus. But...I have to say, at least my chosen is not weak. She isn't that bad at all." He stated as he leaned his head against hers. "Besides, she isn't Nemesis Strika anymore."

Strika smiled sharing a glance with her old foe, now closest ally. "My name is Strika. I think it is time I started using the name I was meant to use." She told everyone, receiving a smile and nods from several others.

"That is just so weird." Sideswipe muttered and Sunstreaker nodded in agreement.

Sunriser, however, was smiling meekly as everyone looked at her. "Optimus, I would like to join the Autobots too. If that is okay." She said smiling.

Optimus studied her for a moment before gently raising a hand and planting it on her amberish colored helm. "Dawn, it would give me no pleasure to deny your request. Welcome to the Autobots." He then smiled sadly. "But let me say this, I must apologize for not being able to protect you better. If I had, this wouldn't have happened to you." He told her.

Sunriser smiled sadly but shook her head. "I'm not complaning, Optimus. Maybe it was better this way." She looked lovingly at Sideswipe, who smiled back. "I get to be like you now. I don't have to worry about aging any more, growing all shriveled up and all. That was always a big fear of mine. Growing old and all. Now I can be with Sides without having to worry any more." She said before reaching out and taking his hand.

"Still, it will be a dangerous journey in this kind of life, Dawn." Ratchet was the one to say, though he was happy for her anyway. "Our lives are not easy. There will be much for you to learn about yourself now."

Sunriser shrugged. "I will have all of you to show me. I am willing to learn." She told him and recieved many smiles.

Then everyone looked at the remainder of the Decepticons. They still didn't have their answers on the matter. They weren't sure if they would continue being enemies or if they would be allies from that time on. Nor did they know if they would pull their selves out of the war entirely.

Starscream turned his optics directly to Thundercracker, who stood back with the other Seekers and the Constructicons. "Well? What about the rest of you?" He asked firmly.

For a moment there silence before Thundercracker nodded and stepped closer. "I meant what I said. I don't like it. But we are brothers, Star. We stick together. I will help you protect your femme." He said looking at Cole before raising a servo, palm up.

Cole blinked for a moment, surprised. She didn't to make of what Thundercracker was doing. So she looked at Starscream, questionably.

Starscream, however, was smiling almost proudly. He looked rather pleased by what his brother was doing. Seeing her look, he nodded as he moved her closer to Thundercracker's servo. "He is requesting your permission to become one of your guards, Cole. It is a Seeker thing. When we find one we really want to guard, namely a Seeker leader's mate or protectee, the Seekers under that Leader will swear an oath to forever protect that one and all to come after. He wants you to run your hand over his palm to approve or accept the guardianship. It is also a symbol of acceptence of leadership. If you accept his oath, he will become your personal guard and soldier. You give him an order, he will follow it through at all cost." He explained.

Cole looked up at him with wonder, amazed by that explanation. She couldn't believe this was happening. "You mean, he will be my soldier? I will be like his leader?" She asked.

Starscream nodded. "In some way. There are no better protectors than Seekers. You and Slipstream will protected greatly from all dangers. No one will dare harming either one of you if you accept a Seeker Guard. In a way, the Seekers who claim you as leader will follow you to tje ends of the universe to protect you." He told her. "They will also become your greatest ally and friend."

Cole slowly nodded before smiling up at Thundercracker as she raised her hand, ready to accept him.

"Also, I should add that if you accept Thundercracker's oath," Starscream quickly added before she made contact and forcing her to pause. "You will be accepting me as your mate. Do you think you are willing to have me like that?" He asked.

The very question stunned everyone listening. They couldn't believe that Starscream, of all Cybertronians and Decepticons was saying that so fondly.

Cole paused, almost thoughtfully before smirking as she looked up at Starscream. "Are you kidding me? Me, marry you?" She asked almost sarcastically, making him frown slightly. And then she ran her hand across Thundercracker's palm, feeling a rather hot static sensation run through her arm. "Why the hell not? You're not as bad as everyone thinks and I am already crazy as it is." She added with a grin.

Starscream grinned back at her as did Skywarp and Thundercracker. They looked mighty pleased to hearing that. Then eyes and optics turned to the others, wondering if they would swear their allegience. And surprisingly, the other Seekers stepped forward, offering their servos to Cole. So they were swearing their protective oath to her as well.

"Wow, Sunny. Never would've guessed we'd get Seekers on our side." Sideswipe said, amazed.

"Me neither, Sides." Sunny piped up.

Taking a deep breath, Hook steppedforward and nodded as he looked at Optimus. "We will serve as your allies, Prime, as well. I think I would rather be a part of your side when the time comes when we face Unicron and Galvatron." He said.

Optimus nodded, smiling proudly. "Then we are all allies then. I think its best we contact the Base then and arrange for our return. Of course, we can always have Jetfire open the Space Bridge. Jetfire, can you...?" And then paused with a frown when he didn't see his oldest friend. "Jetfire? Where is Jetfire?" He asked, looking around.

Everyone frowned looking around. They didn't see him either. Ratchet then turned on his scanners, taking in all of the mechs and femmes around him before freezing as his head shot up and looked off to the side. "Slaggit! Optimus, over there! He doean't look too good either!" He yelled already going off in a dead run.

Everyone was quick to follow the medic, hurrying to see the results of Jetfire's fight with his twin brother.

But when they found him, they wished they hadn't.

There was a pile of scrap metal that used to be Jetfire. He was lying in the field, horribly broken and ripped to shreds. He had been beaten to the brink of deactivation. It was obvious that he lost the fight to Jetstream.

Ratchet rushed to the Legendary Seeker's side and began running scans on him. He did not look happy with the results. "Slagging pits! He is nearly completely deactivated! I need to start working on hom immediately or he will be gone!" He exclaimed, yanking out his tools.

But before he could, a shaking servo reached up and placed it on his arm. It was Jetfire. His optics was flickering dangerously while he shook. "I...it's...crackle...n-no use...Ratch...zitch...et...I am...go-gone..." The old mech murmured weakly. "Opt-Optimus...zzzzzzt..."

Optimus stepped forward, looking completely sorrowful at the situation. "Jetfire." He spoke with a heavy sigh. He bent down to his knee, setting a hand on Jetfire's torn wing. "Old friend, save your strength. Ratchet can..."

"...can-can't save...zzzzztch...m-me...I have had it...I amzzzzzt...too old..." Jetfire said weakly. "I...am ju-just to-too ti-tired...zzzzzt..."

Sighing heavily, Optimus slowly nodded as he lowered his optics. "Rest well then, old friend." He said sadly.

"Pro-protect An-Anya...for me...zzzztch..." Jetfire said weakly before his optics darkened and his black armor took on a deep gray color.

Ratchet sighed heavily and shook his head when Optimus looked at him. "He's gone." He said heavily.

Heads bowed in sorrow, knowing they had lost a great ally. Vlafimir shook his head, tears in his eyes as he stared at the fallen mech, not believing this had happened. This couldn't be happening. Not to his daughter's greatest friend. "No...!" He suddenly burst out, startling everyone. He rushed forward and banged a fist against Jetfire. "Jetfire! You cannot do this to Anya! She loves you! It will kill her if you die! Wake up!" He shouted angrily and painfully.

Everyone could only watch in sympathy. They knew that it was no use. Not when Jetfire was gone already. Everyone knew it was hitting him hard because of what the old Seeker had done for his daughter. After all, he had saved her life from Scourge.

"Vlad, man. It's no use. Jetfire is gone." Epps said grimly.

Vladimir shook his head, with a fierce determined look on his face. He wouldn't accept that. He couldn't for Anya's sake. He had to do something. For her.

Gritting his teeth, he turned away from Jetfire and stormed towards the large structure still sitting innocently there. He recieved some uneasy looks but he paid no mind to them. "Primus! If you really are there! Are you really willing to do this to one of your own children?! Let him die when he means so much to my own child?! Bring him back, please?!" He begged, looking up at the All Spark. "It will break her heart!"

Sighing heavily, Optimus stepped closer to say something to Vladimir but it was Alpha Trion who spoke. "Son, you just said the magic words." He said smiling.

Everyone blinked in surprise. "Huh?" They muttered.

Suddenly the AllSpark lit up, brightly. Brilliant light shot through the markings on the hige structure, namely the one marking that had been Dawn's back before she became a Cybertronian


	47. The Biggest Miracle

No one could explain what happened, really. They did not understand how this could have happened. Nor could they even figure it out what or how it happened. It was a big mystery that seemed to add on to all of the mysteries that they were trying to figure out lately. Either that, or Primus just had the strangest sense of humor.

One moment, Jetfire had been dead.

The next, the All Spark had turned itself on and began to zap the pits out of the body.

Electricity began to run all over the fallen mech's body allowing parts to begin melding together, repairing just like it usually did. And then everyone heard a deep thrumming sound as Jetfire's body gave a mighty jerk as his back began to contort and arch as if he was stretching. The legendary Cybertronian's optics began flashing, but not a color that everyone was expecting.

They were silver blue. Almost a fiery sky blue.

What made it stranger was that several pieces of the fallen Minicons and Decepticons began moving and shooting right into Jetfire's form, melding into and becoming a part of him. He was growing bigger and it made evwryone frown slightly in surprise and confusion.

"What is happening? Is the All Spark really bringing Jetfire back to life?" Hot Rod was the one to ask.

Optimus glanced then to Alpha Trion. He wanted the answer, himself. "Is he...?" He started to ask.

But Alpha Trion shook his head as he smiled right at the repairing mech before them. "Jetfire is gone, Optimus. He won't be returning." He stated.

Everyone stared at him.

"Wai-wait. If this isn't Jetfire, then who...?" Vladimir was asking.

Suddenly the mech jolted upward, gasping and venting air. His sudden movement made everyone jump back. Everyone but Ratchet, that. He jumped forward, placing a hand on the mech's shoulder. "Easy, Jetfire. You have just returned from deactivation. You shouldn't..." he was saying.

Sky blue optics blinked in confusion at him before the mech slowly shook his head. "Je-Jetfire...? Who is that? What happened to me? Where am I?" He asked uneasily before looking around. He froze when his optics landed on Starscream, and he looked surprised. "Sta-Starscream?"

Again, the world seemed to freeze all around everyone for reasons. One, the mech didn't even seem to know who he even was. Two, his vocoder was different. And last, he was looking at Starscream with such confusion and strange recognition that made the Seeker frown in surprise and yet, there was a hint of recognition of the gentle voice that had just come out of this strange new mech.

"Wait a megaclick." Ratchet mittered before runnimg scans over the mech. He frowned at the results. "How could this be. You are not...who do you think you are if not Jetfire?" He asked the question everyone was wondering.

The mech frowned before shaking his head. "What? I know...I know who I am. My name...it is Skyfire."

Time seemed to have stopped when those words were spoken. Everyone could only stop and stare in shock. No one could believe what he had just said. Nor did they believe it.

"Sk-Skyfire?" Starscream stammered over the name, making the rather large Seeker look up at him. "Is that...is that really you? It can't be." He looked over at Ratchet. "How is this possible?!"

Ratchet shook his head, looking bewildered. "I honestly don't know, Starscream. I just don't know. But his readings...they are different from Jetfire's. Whoever this mech is, it is not Jetfire. Not any more."

"Yeah, but how did this happen? I thought Skyfire was gone and he became Jetfire." Hot Rod was the one to ask again.

But no one even knew the answer. Not even Alpha Trion as he frowned at the very thought. He didn't know what Primus' angle was to bringing Skyfire back and not Jetfire. Even if he knew that it wouldn't be Jetfire, he still didn't know how to answer the question that was burning in everyone's mind and processors.

Two days later.

Everything was much different now that the battle was over. It had taken two days of cleaning up the mess in the Congo. The Department had been searched, all of the documents had been gathered and all of the human experiments had been gathered and were being debriefed about what they went through. A lot of them had known what they were getting their selves into but some didn't. They had been tricked just like Fig had been.

Other than that, everything was going all right.

When everyone returned to the base, everyone who had been left behind to guard the base had been surprised to learn of the new members of their army. Especially dealing with the Constructicons and the Seekers.

And everyone learned what had become of Dawn Jade Adams.

Eliza Boyd, especially. They had been expecting their daughter, being just as she had been but when they learned of her death and then her rebirth, the reaction had been expected. She had immediately thrown herself forward and hugged the newest Autobot femme tightly, tears coursing down her face. She had been sad that she lost her daughter but was happy that she wasn't truly gone. She did not mind having her daughter in a new form.

News of Starscream and Cole's union was a shock to all. To hear that the Leader of the Decepticons ad the daughter of the Secretary of Defense was not something that all expected. Keller had not been too happy, however. He didn't want a Decepticon as a son in law.

But Martha Richards and Cole Keller joined forces and made him shut up on the matter.

The news of Jetfire, now Skyfire had hit everyone hard, however.

Especially Anya, when she learned of what happened to her old friend. No one was surprised at all when she had broke down and grieved heavily. There was not much of what anyone could say to comfort her. She wanted Jetfire back. The grumpy old Decepticon warrior, not the somewhat kind and peaceful Autobot that was Skyfire. It was actually quite sad, really.

Skyfire was confused of everything, however.

After he began recovering his new life, he had been debriefed of everything that happened to him. He learned of who he had been for eons of time and have learned of the war between Autobots and Decepticons. He also learned of how his former self, Jetfire met Anya.

In truth, the newly formed Autobot was torn between talking to Anya and just keeping his distance so she could get used to him. As it was, he was going through a few tests by Ratchet to figure things out.

In fact, everyone who had been in the Congo had been going through multiple check ups by Ratchet, Groundhog, Hook and Nik Boyd. They all wanted to make sure no one was still hurt or ill from their time in the jungle. And that was when the biggest miracle of all had been discovered. Something that would change everyone's lives forever. Namely the Prime ad his sparkmate.

Groundhog was the one to discover it.

The Decepticon Medic had been going over some of the reports on the Cybertronians medical files, making sure that everything was fine. He wasn't finding anything...unusual...?

Frowning at something in the report on Elita One, Groundhog stared harder at the information. He didn't understand something, which was a first. He hadn't seen anything like this before. And his old studies didn't cover what this...strange energy surge was that had appeared.

"Hey, Ratchet." Groundhog called to the lime green Autobot before moving over to him, holding out the datapad. "I found something strange in Elita One's reports. I don't understand what I am seeing." He announced.

Ratchet, who had been going over his reports on Skyfire, turned from them and looked at Groundhog. "Hmm? Elita One's? Well I better take a look then. We definitely don't want our Lady Prime to be malfunctioning. Optimus probably could not handle it again if something were to happen to her." He said as he took the data pad.

And he read it.

And then he blinked many times, trying to register what he was even seeing.

And then Ratchet's optics lit up as he stared harder at the reports. "Wh-what is this?! This...this is not possible! It can't be!" He spoke frantically before quickly going over the information again.

Groundhog frowned as did Hook when je heard the urgency in the Autobot's tone. "Ratchet, what is it?" The first asked.

Ratchet swiftly shook his head before raising a hand and tapping his Autobot insignia. "Ratchet to Elita One." He spoke hurriedly.

A moment passed before she answered. "Elita One, here. What is it, Ratchet? Are things well on your end?" She asked.

"Elita One, I need you to report to the medical facility immediately. Groundhog has found...something in your medic reports and I want to scan you to make sure if it was a malfunction or not." Ratchet told her.

There was a pause.

"I am on my way, Ratchet." Elita one said firmly.

Ratchet nodded before looking at Groundhog and Hook, rather seriously. "If these reports are true, we need to prepare right away for Elita. She will need to be operated on right away." He told them before tapping his forehead. "I am sending the details to you now! It will be a very delicate proceedure so you need to do what I say when I say it."

Groundhog and Hook nodded immediately.

It did not take long for Elita One to show up. But she was not alone. She had come Optimus, which was not a surprise at all.

"Ratchet, you made it sound urgent. What happened? What did you find on my files?" Elita One asked frowning in concern.

Ratchet shook his head before he motioned her forward as he prepared his scanner. "I would rather scan your entire system but nott with everyone. Please come this way." He held up a hand when Optimus started to speak. "Optimus, I promise that I will let you know what I find. But right now, I need to speak to her alone." He said to him.

Optimus sighed before nodding. He knew if it was completely important, the Medical Chief would let him know asap. "All right." He said relenting.

Both Ratchet and Elita One moved away from everyone, moving to behind a screen.

Once behind the screen, Ratchet turned to Elita One, looking stern. "Elita, before we start, I must ask. How are you feeling? Have you been feeling any strange sensations in your systems?" He asked formly.

Elita and shook her head. "No. I haven't. What is this about?" She asked and at Ratchet's very stern look, she sighed. "Okay. Maybe a little. My systems lately have been a little distorting. I get dizzy a little but it goes away immediately. And I have felt a few energy drains. But there isn't much." She told him.

Ratchet nodded before aiming his scanner directly at her midsection. He let the red beam ran over her before there was a light beep. He froze for a second before drawing back, looking stunned. "Oh. My. Primus. You had...this was your plan, wasn't it? This is what you meant." He murmured.

Elita One looked concerned now. She didn't understand. Something was wrong. She knew it. "Ratchet, what is it? What is wrong with me?" She asked now worried.

Ratchet paused before he slowly smiled and shook his head. "Nothing is wrong, Elita. Nothing is wrong at all. In fact, it is all right. But you should be feeling a sharp electric jolt in your systems in about two minutes." He warned her.

"Uh...why?" Elita One asked, uneasily now.

Ratchet just grinned before he took her arm and swiftly lead her out of the screen room ad over to a berth. "Hook, Groundhog, I will need you right now." He said as he pushed Elita One towards the berth.

Optimus now looked uneasily. "Ratchet, what is it? What is wrong with Elita?" He asked.

Ratchet shook his head, still smiling. He just motioned to the femme commander to sit on the berth while Groundhog and Hook were readying tools, yet looking uncertain about what to do.

Two minutes later, Elita One jerked before clutching her mid section with a cry of pain.

"Elita!" Optimus cried out and hurried forward.

But Ratchet grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Optimus, it will be okay! I need you to leave the room right now. It is about to get very crowded." He told him.

Optimus looked uncertain and torn about what to do. He didn't like this at all. His mate was hurt in some way. "Ratchet, what is going on here? What is happening to Elita?" He asked, not able to hide the worry in his tone.

Ratchet smiled before looking past Optimus at Groundhog. "Groundhog, lead Optimus out. And send for Alpha Trion. He needs to be in here." He told the Decepticon Medic, who nodded. He shook his head when Optimus started to protest and all the Autobot CMO could do was shake his head and lightly touch his shoulder. "Optimus, Elita One is going into labor. That is what is wrong. Now get out of here so I can bring the sparkling into the world for you." He told him.

The world seemed to stop Optimus dead still. It was like he completely stalled himself and stared in shock right Ratchet.

"Uh..." Groundhog muttered, shocked himself, as was Hook. "What? You...you mean...?"

Ratchet nodded, grinning as he quickly began moving to readying for what was to come. "This is what Primus meant when he told Optimus, Sam and Dawn that he had a plan for our future! Elita One is sparking!" He said hurriedly.

Rushing through the halls, Groundhog was in vehicle mode, speeding and swerving around humans and Cybertronians to find Alpha Trion. He found him in the main hangar with most of their human allies, informing Keller of what they would be expecting in the future battles with Galvatron and the Minicons.

"Alpha Trion!" The Decepticon medic bellowed as he made a swift transformation, startling all. "Alpha Trion, you are needed in the medical facility!"

Everyone stiffened at the sudden urgency.

Alpha Trion frowned but was already moving forward. "What happened? What is it?" He asked the question that everyone wanted to.

Groundhog shook his head quickly. "It's Elita One! She needs you!" He hurried to say.

"What happened?! Is she okay?!" The femmes in the room demanded.

"She's sparking!" Groundhog said motioning to Alpha Trion to hurry.

Nearly every mech and femme froze, optics widening at the news. The humans, however, as well as Sunriser, frowned in confusion. They didn't recognize that term at all.

"What the hell does that mean? Is she dying?!" Epps asked, leaning against an iron railing.

Alpha Trion, however, grinned now rushing out of the room, looking as if that had been the best news he had ever heard. "Oh, you sly son of a glitch, Primus. You are a genius!" Was all he said as he rushed out.

"What does that mean, sparking?! What is happening to Elita?" Mikaela asked, sharing a confused glance with Sunriser.

A rumbling burst of laughter erupted from Ultra Magnus as he shook his head. He sounded happy. "Oh, I cannot believe this! Let me guess. Was Optimus there when it started? What was his reaction?" He laughed mightily.

Groundhog snorted, shaking his head. He was now sharing the laugh with the Autobot Commander and a few others. "Oh, yes, he was. He stalled. He is still stalled right outside the medical facility doors." He told the burly Autobot.

"Hey! What is going on?! What does sparking mean?!" Cole demanded asshe held Slipstream close to her, while sitting in Starscream's servos.

Everyone that was Cybertronian, minus Sunriser, seemed to snap out of their shock. They just couldn't believe this was happening. And to Elita One, of all Cybertronians. It was definitely the greatest news they heard in a real long time.

"Sparking is the same as a human femme's way of saying giving birth to a child." Starscream answered now quite amused, yet still surprised.

Now, the humans froze.

"Wh-what?" Sam asked stunned.

"You mean she's...!" Elena was asking next.

Groundhog nodded as he turned to hurry back to the medical facility. "Yes! Elita One is having a sparkling! Right now! I got to go!" He said before rushing back down the corridor.

"Oh, I got to see this!" It was Reno who said first as he began running after. He was soon chased by many others, humans and Cybertronians.

Upon arriving at the now locked doors of the medical facility, everyone found a stalk still Optimus Prime still right where Groundhog had said he was. Ultra Magnus chuckled as he went over and waved a hand in front of his younger brother's face but recieved no reaction.

"Nope. No body's home. He's stalled all right." The Autobot Commander laughed.

"Is he going to be okay?" Reno asked, worried about his Guardian.

Ultra Magnus nodded, still laughing. "He will be fine. Being stalled basically means he is in shock. So he definitely heard what Ratchet said about his mate sparking a sparkling." He said in amusement.

"Can we go in and watch? I kind of want to see what this whole sparking deal is." Sunriser said, quick facinated in the idea.

A few of the Cybertronians, Autobots and Decepticons snorted at the idea.

"I doubt it. Ratchet will have a fit if we do. Besides, sparking is the same as a human's birthing. It will be messy and very..." Starscream was saying.

"ARGH! STOP TELLING ME TO PUSH! I AM PUSHING, YOU SON OF A GLITCH!" came a rather shocking and unexpecting pained scream from Elita One from inside the room.

"And loud." Starscream finished grimacing while Ultra Magnus just began laughing hard.

Everyone winced or cringed, namely the human femmes who had children of their own. They knew exactly what Elita One was probably feeling right now.

"Ouch. She is definitely feeling the effects of child birth." Eliza remarked.

"Uh...is it really that bad in there? I never heard Elita One talk like that before." Mikaela said grimacing.

"Oh, trust me. That is nothing. You should have heard me when I gave birth to Sam." Judy said with a chuckling Ron next to her.

"Mom!"

"It's true. Judy wouldn't stop screaming about how she hated me and was swearing like an angry sailor." Ron said chuckling before getting his arm slapped by Judy.

"Oh, please. You should have seen me with Kylee's birth." Kris said laughing! Maki g her kids cringe at the the thought. "I actually picked up a bed pan and threw it at my ex-husband's head. Better yet, it hit him."

No one wanted to say anything to that. They didn't dare to.

But before anything else could happen, it got eerily quiet. Everyone froze, listening hard for any sound. It was too quiet now. Nothing could be heard at all.

Finally after a moment, the doors opened and Ratchet came out, looking around. He grimaced seeing everyone there, shaking his head. "The entire base just had to come see, didn't they?" He murmured before looking over at Optimus. "Optimus."

No answer.

Rolling his optics, Ratchet flicked his wrist and threw one of his wrenchs at the Prime's head with a loud bang, startling everyone.

Optimus blinked for tthe first time before looking right at Ratchet. He stiffened, remembering what had happened. "Ratchet! Elita! Is she...?" He was saying.

"She is fine, Optimus. Now get in here and see her and your new sparklings." Ratchet said smiling.

Everyone had to scurry out of the way as Optimus nearly barreled his way through just to get into the room. They knew he was wanting to check on his sparkmate, make sure she was okay.

Once in the room, Ratchet stepped out to face the mob gathered.

"Wait a minute. Did you say sparklings?" Ironhide asked, alarmed.

Ratchet grinned and nodded. "Twins. Elita and Optimus are going to have their hands full with these two. They wouldn't sit still once they were sparked. Especially the mechling. He is going to be a real big one, I can tell you." He remarked quite cheerfully.

Everyone just blinked with fallen jaws and dentas.

Optimus slowly made his way into the room, looking directly at Elita laying on the berth, her entire form steaming and clearly quite hot. She looked so still that ot worried him. He tried to each out with his bond and felt comfort when a gentle cool prod met his.

Elita onlined her weary optics and smiled up at him quite lovingly. "Optimus..." she whispered.

"Elita, are you...are you all right? How do you feel?" Optimus asked worriedly.

Elita just smiled tightly before shaking her head. "Ask me that when Ratchet's sedatives wear off and you will see for yourself." She sad dryly.

It could not be helped that Optimus chuckled in amusement. He could see that her sense of humor wasn't gone. Then he realized it. He couldn't help but still himself. "The sparkling. What happened to it? How did...hhow did this happen? How could this...?" He was saying in alarm.

Gently laughing, Elita shook her head. "It happened because you couldn't help yourself but full fill your needs, slagger. You knocked me up." She remarked.

Optimus felt his face plates heat up as he knelt down beside her. "I...uh..." he said rather stupidly..

Laughing wearily, Elita reached out and touched his arm. "You sound like Sam when you stammer like that. It is adorable." She teased.

Pouting a little, Optimus shook his head. "I do not stammer." He murmured before looking around the room. "The sparkling? Where is it?" He asked worried again.

"They are right here, Prime."

Optimus turned around and saw Groundhog walking away from a wash rack, where Hook was still standing, probably just trying to keep his distance.

In Groundhog's arms were two bundles. Optimus gaped in surprise.

"There is two of them, Optimus. Twins. A mechling and a femmeling." Elita One said fondly. She then reached out to the Decepticon medic, who approached slowly bit smiling.

"I ran scans over them while we were washing the sparking energon from them. They are both quite healthy and in very good condition. Though that is no surprise when they have two very strong creators." Groundhog said as he lowered one of the sparklings into its mother's arm. He then turned to Optimus, offering the other. "She is very beautiful, Prime. I have never seen a sparkling before Slipstream. But she and her brother are exquisite. Congradulations." He said softly.

Carefully, Optimus took the tiny bundle, which was no bigger that a human toddler. He cupped his hands under the sparkling, gaping in surprise. The sparkling was a very gentle blue silver color with her brilliant blue optics blinking innocently. She had anntennai just like Optimus, yet they were mere bumps compared to his own. Optimus could not help but stare at his new sparkling with amazement. He could not believe his own optics. He was a creator, a father now. Of two sparklings. It was a mysterious wonder. "How could this happen? I thought we could not bear sparklings of our own." He murmured, bringing his new daughter closer to his chassis.

Hook was the one to shrug and answer. "Ratchet reconfigures that this is what Primus had in mind of saving our people, Prime. Our Lord and All Creator must have granted Elita One the gift of sparking. Ratchet believes these will not be the only sparklings to come. He wants to do some tests on all of the femmes to make sure." He explained.

Groundhog nodded. "Looks like Cybertronians won't be lost for good. We will be able to reproduce our race after all." He said smiling.

Optimus softened before looking down at his other sprkling, noting his dark silver coloring and deep ocean blue optics blinking in wonder at Elita. "This...this is the most treasured news we have to recieve. Sparklings. Primus has truly gifted us." He said very softly.

"Uh-hem."

Every head turned to see that the door was cracked open and Ultra Magnus was there, smiling. "You have some humans in here that want to see if they can come in and see the sparklings, Optimus and Elita. As is everyone. There hasn't been any new sparked sparklings in over a thousand years and most of us has never seen one. So?" He asked grinning.

Optimus and Elita smiled, glancing at one another before nodding their approval for everyone to come in.

Ultra Magnus nodded before swinging the door open and slowly quite a lot of the humans came in, looking excited and uncertain. Even Sunriser poked her head in.

"Everyone," Elita One said as she held up her sparkling while Optimus held up the other. "Meet our sparklings."

"Awwwww! They are so cute!" Elena immediately said.

Everyone grinned and nodded in agreement as they admired the sparklings. They were adorable.

"So, what are you going to name them?" Mikaela asked as she admired the sparklings.

Optimus and Elita glanced at one another before smiling and looking at the others. It was not hard to figure out that they spoke to each other through their personal link. "This will be Omega." Elita said as she held up her mechling.

"And this is Beta." Optimus said smiling as he looked down at his little femmeling.

"Omega and Beta Prime. This should be interesting from here on out." Alpha Trion said fondly as he looked down at his grandsparklings.

"What hasn't been interesting?" Ironhide remarked chuckling as he put his arm around Chromia and Sizzle..

Suddenly the icy blue femme yelped as if in pain, doubling over, earning alarmed looks.

"Chromia!" Her mate yelped.

Ratchet immediately scanned her and then swore. "Oh, fragging pits! Another one?! Everyone, out! We have another sparkling to deliver!" He ordered.

"You have got to be fragging me! Femmes are popping out sparkligs now!" It was Hot Rod who yelped as he and everyone was shoved towards the door aafter scrambling humans.

It was definitely going to be more interesting.


	48. Epilogue

Cold space.

That was all that was around him.

But this time, he was awake. He had recieved enough energy to awaken from his deep sleep mode. He had enough to activate his powerful throttles only for a gentle drift through the darkness. He needed more, however. The gaseous energy he had been feeding off hadn't been enough and neither had been the jolt that his darkest servant had given him.

Still, it was enough for him to awaken and begin planning his revenge on his ridiculous brother by tearing apart that small world he was trying to protect.

"Soon, Primus, your precious world will end with your pathetic creations." The Lord of Darkness, Unicron thought maliciously and continued to plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To Be Contiued in Transformers: Shadow of the Day


End file.
